Gold
by momoxtoshiro
Summary: A cat, a coincidence, and a childhood friendship brought them together. But just because people come together, does not necessarily mean they will stay that way, for people are fickle, fragile, and foolishly selfless in terms of love.
1. Chapter 1

**I've been working on this story for over two months and now and just finished writing not long ago, so it's time to reveal it! I tend to avoid long, multi-chapter stories just because there's excessive chances for messing up small details on my part, but I decided to go through with it anyway, so be warned there will probably be inconsistencies I failed to keep up with or edit properly. I put a lot of effort in, though.**

**I'm dedicating this fanfic to all of my friends in the fandom, but mainly to Jon (the first author I read RWBY from and a great writer who is largely responsible for my writing RWBY in the first place) and Emmy (my most-admired writer and the person I look up to most in many aspects who continues to inspire me daily).**

**A/N: This is a Normal Life AU (so no Grimm, no Faunus). This first scene starts off when Yang's about 10 years old and Ruby 8. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

* * *

Gold

Chapter 1.

_**I'm forever, always by your side. Whenever you need a friend, I'm never far behind.**_

* * *

"Yaaaang! We're gonna be late!"

"Chill out, baby sis! I mean sure, we've almost been late every day of school so far in the past two months since it started, but when have we ever _actually_ _been_ late?"

"Stiiill!" Ruby was bouncing up and down nervously in place, holding tightly to the red straps of her backpack on her shoulders. Amused by her sister's anxiousness to get to school, Yang only moved more languidly as she tied her shoe laces, pausing to give a long yawn like a lion's before she finally stood and slid her jacket over her uniform. "Are you ready nooww?" Ruby whined.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's get going."

The two young girls called goodbyes back into the house as their parents wished them a good day.

Ruby and Yang lived close enough to Vacuo Elementary school where they did not require a bus to take them there and home every day. It was a bit of bummer on rainy, dreary days, but they always made it fun by challenging one another to races and seeing which one stepped in the most puddles along the way.

But on warm days with seasonal sunlight shining down from a bright blue sky, the walk to school was much more enjoyable. The sounds of airplanes were a common background noise thanks to the nearby airport, and the rumbling sounds had become naturally enjoyable to the girls, particularly on energetic, springtime days like today.

But as Yang would soon discover, this morning was a bit more special than all the others.

Ruby had squatted down to admire two budding flowers peeking through the cracks in the sidewalk, pointing her finger out for a wandering ladybug to perch there.

Yang smiled and rolled her eyes. "_Now_ who's gonna make us late for school?" she mumbled.

She had trained her eyes on the clouds above as she allowed Ruby a moment to content herself with nature when she heard a small sound coming from the other side of the street.

Curious, Yang looked over to the source of the mewling noises.

A tiny black kitten was pressing itself into the rocks of a garden wall. A young girl, probably about Yang's age, was offering her hand to it, murmuring soothing coos all the while. Her long, wavy hair was as dark as the kitten's fur, and had a similar-colored ribbon in it, and even from her angle, Yang could see the amiable smile on the girl's face. She seemed to be holding out a bit of food, trying to coax the kitten out of hiding.

Yang watched quietly from where she stood, a wide smile breaking out on her lips as the kitten finally climbed down to sit in front of the girl. _You did it!_ Yang congratulated her silently.

The look on the girl's face was priceless as the kitten ate the food she had offered it; she smiled joyously and it clearly reached her golden eyes.

"Gold, huh?" Yang muttered to herself. She could not recall ever having seen this girl at school before, and when she looked closer, she realized she wore a different uniform. It was... Mistral Elementary, perhaps?

She was lost in thought and did not notice Ruby prance up beside her, a ladybug on her nose.

"Yang! What's going on over there?" she asked.

Her voice broke Yang's train of thought, catching her off guard as she let out a surprised, "Whoa!"

Her shout echoed easily across the street. The girl with the pretty black hair had just been reaching out to pet the kitten when Yang's cry startled the animal.

It bolted out into the street just as a foreboding roar of tires rounded the corner.

"Oh no!" Ruby gasped, her silver eyes ridden with fear, hands flying to her mouth. The terrified kitten froze in place in the center of the street, trembling as it crouched in wake of the oncoming car.

But what made Yang's heart pound even harder was when the girl on the other side of the street stood quickly, eyes focused on the kitten. She dashed into the street, calling out, "Go, go!" as she waved her hands at the animal. Her motions snapped the kitten out of its petrified state and it bolted the rest of the way across the street to the safety of the bushes.

There was a brief second during which a relieved smile crossed the black-haired girl's face, until an ear-shattering honk of the car's horn caused her to jump. She stumbled trying to get back to the sidewalk, falling onto her hands and knees as she cried out.

Without wasting another second, Yang felt her feet propelling her forward as fast as they could go. She could smell the gasoline of the car and feel the rumbling of the tires against the pavement as they neared her.

But she ignored the crushing fear that seized her as she grabbed the other girl by the waist, mustering up all the strength in her body as she lifted her off the ground. Yang got in a few swift strides before she collapsed, the other girl and herself crashing onto the sidewalk with muffled grunts.

The car sped past, still beeping for a minute until the air was still again.

Yang groaned as she blinked open her eyes, staying still until her vision became focused again. She pushed herself up and quickly looked to her right where the black-haired girl lie on her side.

"H-Hey!" Yang called out, crawling over to her. "Are you okay?" She placed a hand on the girl's shoulder and shook her very gently. The girl moaned weakly, and Yang worried she had hit her head against the concrete. "Oh man..." she mumbled.

"Y-Yang!"

The blonde girl looked up when she heard Ruby call out to her. Her sister looked both ways before she ran across the street, coming to a halt beside Yang. "Are you okay? Oh gosh, is _she_ okay?! Should I find someone to call 911?" She was fidgeting nervously in place, ready to run off at Yang's command.

"I'm fine," Yang answered. "But I don't know about-"

She was interrupted by another sound – a cough this time – and the black-haired girl expelled some grit from her mouth. Both sisters looked anxiously down at her.

"H-Hey," Yang said again. "Can you hear me? Does it hurt anywhere?" She gave the girl's shoulder another shake which finally seemed to rouse her.

She blinked open her eyes – they were golden, just as Yang had suspected – and they were much more vibrant and pretty than she had initially thought.

As she seemed to realize what had just happened, the girl gasped, quickly pushing herself up and jerking away from Yang's hand.

Yang was quick to apologize. "Oh! I'm sorry! I shouldn't have touched you like that. I didn't hurt you, did I?"

The girl looked panicked, eyes wide as they flashed from Yang to Ruby and back again.

"I-I..." Her voice was small and timid, and it almost made Yang feel bad for having such a loud tone by nature.

"Your kitty is safe!" Ruby said helpfully.

That seemed to make the girl feel a bit better.

"That's good... ow!" Her lips that had almost smiled instantly fell back into a frown.

"Should we call for help? Did you hit your head?" Yang prompted softly.

The girl's golden eyes were still round as she clutched her hands to her chest, shaking her head.

"N-No... I'm-"

"Hey, you're bleeding!" Ruby gasped.

The three of them looked down to the girl's legs where her bare knees were smeared with blood just above her black knee-socks.

"Oh no! Here, can you stand?" Yang slid close to the girl, slipping an arm around her back. Ruby did the same on her other side, and together they brought the black-haired girl to her feet. She hesitantly followed them to the rock wall of the garden where the kitten had previously been hiding, and they helped her sit there.

Yang shuffled through the front zipper of her backpack as the timid girl looked to Ruby nervously.

"Don't worry!" Ruby beamed. "Yang's always prepared for boo-boos! Our mommy trained her!"

Yang pulled a small bottle of disinfectant from her backpack before plucking a cotton ball from a zip-lock baggie.

"This might hurt a little," Yang warned, dabbing the white ball onto the lid of the bottle. She then knelt down to press it against both of the girl's knees.

She flinched at the stinging pain, letting out a whimpered, "Ow!" before covering her mouth, as though apologizing for being too loud. Ruby patted her back comfortingly; she knew the stingy part hurt.

Yang pulled two large square band-aids from a box in her backpack, tearing the paper off the backs in an expert motion before spreading them firmly onto the cuts.

A minute later, she stood, clapping her hands together in accomplishment.

"There! You're all patched up now!"

The girl slowly slid down until her shoes touched solid ground again.

"Thank you..."

"No thanks necessary!" Yang grinned.

"No you... you saved my life!" She cried. "What... what can I do to thank you?"

"Well, if you wanna thank me..." Yang thought for a moment. "Then make sure to keep living your life!"

The other girl was silent for a moment and she closed her mouth, not knowing what to say.

Ruby spoke again. "Were you going to school, too?"

Her comment seemed to remind the girl that it was Monday.

"That's right! I have to go to-"

"Blake!"

A new voice cut into the mix just then, and the three girls looked up to glance at the new arrival.

She wore the same uniform as the black-haired girl – Blake – only this girl had contrasting, snow-white hair that was pulled into a ponytail. Her face was red as she ran up to them, evidently having been in a fluster.

"What in the world is going on over here?" she demanded as she looked Blake up and down. But before the black-haired girl could speak, the new girl spotted the cuts on Blake's palms and the unkept state of her uniform, and she immediately rounded on the sisters. "What did you two do to her?!" She yelled, stepping in front of Blake defensively. "She's shaking and bleeding! Why, I'll tell my father and have you both punished!"

"Hey, chill out, princess!" Yang frowned. "We didn't-"

"Weiss, it's okay!" Blake cut off Yang's statement as she tugged on the white-haired girl's sleeve imploringly. "They didn't hurt me; they _saved _me! I fell in the street and that girl saved me from a car."

"_A car?!_" Weiss shrieked in dismay. "Blake, what happened?! Are you alright? You could have been killed!"

"But I wasn't!" she soothed. "Because she saved me." She nodded to Yang, and Weiss followed her gaze to the blonde girl. She scrunched her nose before her expression softened a little. Yang allowed herself to smile in return.

Blake sighed in relief now that further yelling had been avoided. "I'm okay, Weiss," she said again. "They even gave me band-aids. See?" She lifted one knee up, and the white-haired girl narrowed her eyes. She seemed to be inspecting the other girl's injuries, and Yang and Ruby stood at attention, as if a strict teacher was looking over their homework.

A minute later, Weiss straightened up with a huff, sharp blue eyes flicking between the sisters until they met lavender.

"Were _you_ the one who treated her?" she growled.

Yang nodded once, holding her chin high. "Yeah."

Weiss stepped up to her, the top of her head level with Yang's chin as she squinted up at her.

"Did you disinfect the cuts?"

"Yes."

"..."

Weiss held her gaze a moment longer before she finally stepped back.

"You did a good job," she diagnosed. "Thank you for your help. But we're late for school now, and we've got to go." She spun around on her heel and slipped her hand into Blake's, tugging her along down the sidewalk.

Blake looked back over her shoulder.

"Thank you." She called softly before following after her companion.

The two sisters watched them go, and only once they were out of earshot did Ruby finally speak up again.

"Her name's Weiss? Schnee? Like the big jewelry company?" she questioned.

"Probably," Yang confirmed as her eyes followed the long, black hair of the girl named Blake.

"Hmm..." Ruby brought two knuckles to her chin briefly. "Well, she sure yells a lot, but I like her!"

"You do?"

"Yeah! She was really worried about, uh... Blake? I wonder if they're sisters."

"I never heard of the Schnees having two daughters," Yang mumbled. "Then again, I never heard much about them in the first place..."

Another minute passed as they watched the figures of the other two girls disappear into a crowd of students headed down the path to a different school. It was then Ruby remembered.

"Waaaah! Yang, we're late!"

"Oh crap!"

"Hey, watch your language!" Ruby barked as the two of them took off running. Yang laughed before she noticed a little red speck on the back of her hand. She realized it was a ladybug – probably the one Ruby had found before.

Smiling, Yang made sure to keep it safely on her hand until they reached the school building where it finally flew away.

* * *

After asking around their school a bit, Ruby and Yang gathered some information about the Schnee family.

Evidently, when Weiss was very young, she had fallen seriously ill. Her parents brought her to a doctor who diagnosed that it was due to loneliness; her parents were both constantly at work, and the babysitters they hired were always neglectful.

Her mother could not bear any more children, and their daughter was getting less and less responsive every day.

Concerned, her mother had quit her job, and decided together with her husband that they would adopt another child.

That was Blake.

Blake had been abandoned by her parents when she was a baby, and lived at the local orphanage for the first few years of her life. The Schnees took her in, and she and Weiss had grown up together as sisters ever since.

Although Weiss was a few months younger than Blake, she typically took on the role of the elder sister, constantly checking up on Blake and making sure she was safe.

Ruby and Yang found out a lot about the peculiar pair that day from classmates who lived near the Schnees or had heard more about them from their parents.

"See?" Ruby had said, smiling at Yang. "I told you they were sisters!"

"Kinda..." Yang shrugged.

That day on the walk home, both sisters found themselves looking about for the now-familiar duo. The students from Vacuo and Mistral shared routes home for students who lived close enough to walk.

Yang realized she had seen Blake and Weiss both before walking home from her peripheral vision, but had never taken much interest in them.

Today, however, she spotted them almost instantly. Weiss was tugging Blake in the direction opposite of the one Ruby and Yang needed to take to get home, but it looked like Blake was trying to persuade the white-haired girl to let her go the other way. Weiss seemed to comply begrudgingly, but would only allow it if she could come along. Blake granted permission, it seemed, and the two girls started walking down the opposite sidewalk from Ruby and Yang.

"Hey!" Ruby nudged Yang eagerly. "Let's cross over to that side and walk back together!"

"I don't think they're going to be going very far," Yang guessed.

Her assumptions were proven correct when the two girls stopped by the rocky garden wall from this morning. Blake crouched down to peer into the crack where the kitten had been hiding earlier, calling out softly. Weiss waited, tapping her foot, murmuring about how they were going to be scolded if they did not get home before curfew.

Yang and Ruby watched from across the street, the younger girl muttering prayers that Blake would find her cat. But even after several minutes, Blake's shoulders slumped hopelessly.

"Aw, that's too bad..." Yang sighed. She watched as Blake stood slowly, and Weiss grasped her arm.

"Come on, now," she said. "Father will be upset if we're a second late. You know how he worries. Besides, he'd never let us keep a cat anyway..." she added regretfully.

Yang felt bad for Blake as Weiss started pulling her away; she cast her golden gaze back over her shoulder to where the kitten had been that morning, and her eyes were distraught. But the blonde girl smiled a little when she heard Weiss say, "We can come back this way and check again tomorrow."

"You're right, Ruby," Yang said as she ruffled her little sister's hair. "I like her, too."

* * *

The next morning, Yang was proud to see that Weiss had kept her promise.

The two girls were across the street at the same garden when Ruby and Yang walked by. "Oh!" Ruby jumped up and down, pointing excitedly. "Look, it's them! And they found the kitty!"

Yang squinted to look into the shadows of the rock wall and saw that she was right. She smiled as she watched the two girls who were kneeling down, offering their hands to the cat. Yang heard Weiss' voice even from across the street as she said to Blake, "See? I told you he'd be here again. And this is why I saved the leftovers from last night's supper."

The black kitten was happily nipping bits of meat from their fingers, rubbing up against their knees.

"Awww, I wanna pet him, too!" Ruby complained.

"Maybe on the way back. Let's leave those two alone for now."

After bearing witness to the heartwarming scene, Yang wore a smile on her face for the rest of the day during school.

On the way home, Ruby was delighted when Yang suggested they walk on the other side of the street. As she had suspected, they ended up converging paths with Blake who was crouched down, petting the black kitten.

Yang pressed her index finger to her lips, indicating to Ruby that they should be cautious as not to scare them. They tiptoed up behind Blake and Yang called out softly. "Hey!"

Blake jumped and turned around.

"Oh, it's you! Ah, wait don't go!" She quickly turned back to the kitten, scratching its ears and keeping it close.

"Awww, can I pet him?" Ruby's eyes were brimming with excitement.

"Her," Blake corrected. "And yes. Just let her smell you first. She's very clean and affectionate for a stray."

"She's a stray?" Ruby frowned in dismay as she knelt down on the sidewalk, reaching out her hand. The kitten sniffed her fingers before bumping her head against them with a purr.

"Yes," Blake murmured. "Kind of like me..." She turned her face away briefly. Yang wanted to say something, but she was at a loss for words.

Thankfully, her little sister was on top of things.

"But you have a family!" Ruby said with a smile.

Blake looked back at her and Yang saw her lips curl up slightly.

"Yeah," she nodded. "I was a stray when I was little, but not anymore. But that's why I want to help her..." She pet the kitten's back several times. "But like Weiss said, Father wouldn't allow us to keep her."

"Where's your sister?" Yang wondered.

"I told her to wait for me back at the corner. I just wanted to feed the kitten some more before we went home."

"What's her name?" Ruby wondered, rubbing the animal's belly as she rolled about.

"I call her Shroud. Because she's dark like the shadows," Blake explained.

"That's a really cool name!" Yang watched them both fondly, wishing she could offer to take the kitten home with them to ease Blake's mind – maybe the girl could even come over to visit sometime. But hers and Ruby's father was allergic to cats, so it was impossible.

Just then, a voice called out Blake's name, and the three girls turned to see Weiss standing at the far end of the corner, waving almost frantically. Blake gave the kitten one last pat on the head before standing.

"I've got to go. We're going to be late getting home."

"Yeah, us too." Yang gathered her sister and hoisted her to her feet. "Maybe we'll... see you tomorrow?" She asked, looking hopefully up into Blake's pretty eyes.

The other girl seemed hesitant for a moment, her gaze flicking down to the kitten, then over to Ruby before resting on Yang.

"Yes," she finally replied. "I think I'll ask Weiss for us to start coming to school this way from now on. We'd just need to go around the block a bit."

"Awesome!" Yang grinned. "Oh! Before you go..." She offered her hand out. "Let me introduce us. I'm Yang, and this is my baby sister, Ruby!"

"I'm not a baby!"

"You're always gonna be a baby to me!"

Ruby puffed out her cheeks impishly.

The exchange earned a hearty laugh from Blake, and Yang grinned, loving the sound of her merriment.

Blake extended her hand and took Yang's.

"I'm Blake. It's nice to meet you two." There was a smile on her lips now, and Yang wanted it to stay there forever.

Blake shook hands with Ruby as well before Weiss' call had her scurrying off. The kitten hopped up onto the rock wall of the garden before disappearing into the bushes.

"See you tomorrow!" Ruby called softly after her. Two amber eyes blinked back before vanishing with a rustle of leaves.

As they walked home, there was a slight bounce in Ruby's step. "I like those two!" she said. "Weiss is a good big sister - of course not as great as you!" she added bashfully. "And Blake's really kind! You said you liked Weiss before, so what about Blake?"

Yang did not have to think very long on her reply.

"I like her a lot."

* * *

That was how the four girls first got acquainted.

After Blake had persuaded Weiss to let them walk a different path to school from then on, they met up and spoke almost every day.

Yang instantly took a liking to teasing Weiss about her height and getting an indignant yell and a blushing pout in response. Blake and Ruby tended to Shroud every day, always sparing a few minutes each morning to feed and pet her. Even on days when it rained, Weiss and Yang would hold their umbrellas over their sisters' heads for them as they fed the kitten and hid her beneath bushes to keep her dry.

Although they did not attend the same schools, they grew very close walking together both ways every day. Before any of them could realize it, it had become their normal schedule that demanded no questions.

Yang found it amusing how Weiss would always lecture Ruby about her backpack zippers not always being all the way closed or how her hair was messy.

In turn, Yang looked out for Blake, always offering to carry her book bag when she seemed to be struggling. Usually, her offer was rejected a little pridefully, but every once in a while Blake would bashfully hand her bag over for Yang to carry with a wide grin.

They were like a pack of stray dogs who had come together for the necessity of companionship. They looked out for one another, though they really had no obligation to do so for anyone but their own sisters.

Ruby would eagerly ask Weiss what she had learned in school that day, and the white-haired girl would always go off rambling about all the impressive things she had been taught. Ruby would listen in amazed silence, eyes sparkling all the while.

Perhaps that was what fueled Weiss to always keep talking so much.

In more serious cases, they looked out for one another as well.

One day, when Yang had been waiting for Ruby at the school's exit, she had heard the unmistakable sounds of bullying. A boy from her class named Cardin always picked on other kids for no reason other than recreation. Yang hated his guts with her entire being and tried to avoid him whenever she could.

But this time, she saw that he was taunting a girl from another school, a girl with long black hair that he had his hand tangled in as he yanked at her ribbon...

Yang had run over and punched him upside the jaw, screaming at him until he scrambled away calling for his mother.

She turned to Blake who had collapsed to the ground in fear, and Yang sat beside her. She fixed her hair and carefully retied her beloved ribbon, which Blake had tearfully told her had once been her mother's, that she had been wearing it when she was brought to the orphanage as an infant.

Moments later, Weiss had arrived with a teacher to handle the situation. As Yang confessed what she had done, she watched Weiss fall to her knees and pull Blake to her, apologizing for being a coward and running off to find a teacher rather than step in to help her.

That was when Ruby had dashed up to them, frantically asking what had happened before patting Weiss' and Blake's shoulders.

After that, the four of them had grown closer in a more serious way, a way that proved their trust and respect for one another.

For the rest of their times at their respective elementary schools, they were happy together, unaware of the trials to come.

But until then, Yang did her best to make sure the four of them were always smiling.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you for reading chapter 1!**

****Additionally! A very talented artist honored me with drawing scenes from this chapter! You can find them at moekumo,tumblr,com/post/88823999671****

**Ch 2 preview: **_**Yang noted how Weiss always made it a point to wait for Ruby if she needed to stay after school. If Ruby had to stay home sick, she would demand that Yang take better care of her so that she could see her again as soon as possible.**_

_**Her role in Ruby's life was like that of a mentor and a companion all in one, and Yang could tell this girl cared for her sister deeply.**_

_**But one morning, she started to notice how Ruby would purposefully keep some distance between Weiss and herself...**_

**Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks so much for the support on chapter 1! I never expected such a response! I can't thank you all enough!**

**A/N: A comment from now after I've seen volume 2, this story was written before then, so there is no mention of Winter here.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

* * *

Chapter 2.

_**I'm so happy just to have you here. Smiles bringing sunshine, worries disappear.**_

* * *

All throughout middle school, they never really changed.

Ruby and Yang would be sure to walk on the opposite side of the street, always running to where Blake and Weiss stood waiting for them. They had been inseparable since their elementary days, and therefore were even more so by their high school years.

When Yang, Blake, and Weiss were fourteen, they moved on to their respective high schools; Yang attended Beacon High whereas the other two headed for Signal. It was tough for Yang to have to leave Ruby behind in middle school, but the campus for the high school was only a several-minute walk away.

Although Blake and Weiss had to go a bit more out of their way in order to meet up with the other sisters on their way to their own school, they had gotten into the routine of waking up earlier so that they may do so and still get to class on time.

Shroud – the once-tiny black kitten who had more or less brought the bunch together – was no longer so tiny. Over the years of generous feeding thanks to the group of girls, the cat had grown into a fine animal, lithe and agile while still being plump enough to be notably healthy for a stray.

The girls continued to pass the days, Ruby trying to catch up to Yang as the blonde told her to stop growing up so quickly.

"Though, I think the princess could do with a little _more_ growing, if you ask me," Yang teased.

Weiss had hit her on the head with the textbook she was carrying.

For a time, everything was normal, and they were happy.

Almost as if it was all too perfect.

* * *

It was halfway through Yang's sixteenth year and Ruby's fourteenth when the younger sister's behavior notably changed.

They were going to the same high school now, so Ruby was able to see her sister again during the class-time hours and her best friends on the ways to and from school.

But Yang started to notice some things, probably even before Ruby did.

Her little sister always walked to school in between Weiss and herself, and Blake would often stick close to her adoptive sister's other side or occasionally sneak over to Yang if Weiss was lecturing Ruby too loudly.

The youngest of the group would always pout or whimper whenever Weiss yelled at her, but she almost never yelled back – on the few occasions that she did, she realized her mistakes without Yang having to address the issue, and always apologized the next time they met.

Weiss only ever yelled if she was exasperated or worried; in either case it was only when she was concerned for Ruby.

They had never had a fight like most teenage friends did, and there was very little drama between them, save for the scolding if Ruby forgot her homework or performed poorly on an exam. Weiss had become her personal tutor, it seemed, keeping the brunette in line and remarkably in one of the top positions in her class, grade-wise.

But she was also a good friend.

Yang noted how Weiss always made it a point to wait for Ruby if she needed to stay after school. If Ruby had to stay home sick, Weiss would demand that Yang take better care of her so that she could see her again as soon as possible.

Her role in Ruby's life was like that of a mentor and a companion all in one, and Yang could tell this girl cared for her sister deeply.

But one morning, she started to notice how Ruby would purposefully keep some distance between Weiss and herself.

When Weiss tried to help her study verbally, the "uhh" and "um" responses on Ruby's part were less from uncertainty of the answer, and more from discomfort.

Whenever Weiss asked a more casual question, like if Ruby had been to the new sweets shop in her town, the reply was short and with forced enthusiasm.

It went on for several days, and each time, Yang grew a bit more concerned. Blake kept sending her worried looks as well; their sisters had always had a sturdy relationship, so what was amiss so suddenly?

It was clearly having an effect on Weiss as well.

When Ruby started keeping her physical distance, Weiss had pointedly moved closer until she realized the expanding space between them was intentional. When it was clear Ruby did not want to be next to her anymore, Weiss allowed the distance – begrudgingly at first – but soon it became more troubling to her.

It was when Ruby started keeping the emotional distance that Weiss began to change as well. Ruby was becoming more unresponsive, therefore Weiss became more discouraged to ask her things.

At first, the white-haired girl had been defiant, complaining that Ruby was speaking to her less often. But once she realized it was evidently a serious matter for the brunette, Weiss became quieter. The last thing she wanted to do was chase Ruby away, and if her loud, accusing words were a part of what did that, then she would stop speaking altogether if need be.

Blake had even voiced her fears to Yang, telling her how Weiss had started acting differently at home and in school.

Once it had been going on for a week, Weiss seriously started to worry something was wrong with Ruby. She pulled Yang aside after school one day when their sisters were feeding the cat. Yang expected what was coming, and yet she had no idea how to respond.

"What's wrong with her?" Weiss demanded, her mist-blue eyes sharp and piercing as she glared up at Yang. But the blonde could tell the anger in her eyes was only a barrier that masked her anxiety. Even Weiss could not keep the scowl on her face for very long, and her fists soon unclenched, posture slumping as she took a step back, lowering her voice and her gaze. "She's not acting normal. Something must have happened that I don't know about. Are you hiding things from me?" she growled.

"Of course not!" Yang said defensively. Weiss continued to glare up at her with eyes that threatened tears. "Well..." Yang grunted. "I actually... might have an idea of what's happening, but it's nothing you should be worried about. Not at all."

Weiss inhaled a sharp breath before swallowing thickly. Yang could tell she was doing her best not to cry now out of sheer frustration. Seeing that she was about to break, Yang quickly wrapped her arms around her.

In any other situation, Weiss probably would have shoved her away in embarrassment. But for now, she allowed the contact, well-aware that if she pulled away now, the others would see her crying, and that was not something she could allow.

Yang understood; as the big sister figure, they were not allowed to cry in front of the other two; if _they_ cried, what were Ruby and Blake supposed to do?

Yang patted Weiss' shoulders as the girl let out her frustrated sobs into her shoulder. "What did I... What did I do wrong?" she choked.

Yang's heart went out to her; this girl truly cared for her sister.

It irked her a bit that Weiss was crying in her arms now without a clear cause. She bent down slightly, drawing a tissue from her pocket and dabbing it over Weiss' cheeks.

"You didn't do anything wrong, Weiss. I'll talk to Ruby, okay? Try not to worry."

The smaller girl sniffed once before nodding simply.

Yang gave her back a pat just as Blake noticed what was happening, she left Ruby – who was unaware of what was going on – to feed the cat before rushing over to Weiss.

"What's wrong?" she fretted. Technically-speaking, Blake was older than Weiss by a few months, and Yang could tell she had the "big sister" gene in her as well.

"It's nothing!" Weiss snapped. But her expression instantly changed when she realized she had spoken harshly again. "I'm... I'm sorry..."

"Why are you sorry?" Blake looked down at her before her fearful golden eyes met Yang's and then fell back to Weiss.

"I just... I don't want to scare you away, too..." she whispered.

"Scare me...?" Blake looked from Weiss back over her shoulder to Ruby, then helplessly to Yang, and back to Weiss. The last time Weiss had shown any of them tears was nearly six years ago when Blake had almost been hit by the car.

Clearly, if she was this distraught now, she was truly hurting.

"Hey," Yang murmured. "You're not scaring anyone away. Like I said, I'll talk to Ruby. You just go home and rest. Whatever it is, it's not your fault." She then turned to Blake who glanced up at her imploringly. "Take her home. And don't sweat it. I have a feeling there's nothing to worry about."

"Okay..." Blake appeared to relax a bit now in knowing Yang intended to address the matter with Ruby.

Blake eased Weiss slowly toward where the sidewalk split for them to take their path home. But before they left, Weiss turned back to face Yang and murmured, "Tell her I said goodnight..."

She was too upset to do it herself, Yang guessed, too worried Ruby might ignore her.

Yang gave a small smile to both girls before they headed off.

When they were out of sight, Ruby stood up.

"Okay Blake, Shroud's done eat-! Blake?" She looked around curiously. "Where did she go?"

"They both went home," Yang said slowly. "You didn't notice?"

"Not really..." Ruby saw the look in Yang's eyes and knew something was coming. Evidently, the cat sensed the tension on the air as well and dashed off into the garden.

Yang checked her cell phone for the time, decided they had enough to spare before their parents would start asking questions, and then motioned for Ruby to sit down on the rock wall. Her sister regarded her warily but obeyed, and Yang sat beside her.

"What is it?" Ruby asked.

"You know what."

"I don't! That's why I'm asking!"

Yang gave her a hard stare. "Why are you avoiding Weiss?"

At the mention of the white-haired girl, Ruby's composure was shattered.

"W-What? I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not avoiding her!"

"Is it because she lectures you?"

"No! I know she only yells because she cares about me."

"Then why are you avoiding her?"

"I'm _not_ avoiding her!"

"Ruby..."

"What?! I don't know what you're talking about!"

She did seem confused, but Yang was not sure it was for the same reasons she thought it was.

"So you mean to tell me you didn't notice how she was feeling recently?"

"...What?"

Yang sighed. "You're not talking to her like you used to. And whenever we walk to school, you move away from her. When she asks you about your day, you've pretty much been ignoring her."

"I... I have? I didn't realize..." Ruby trailed off guiltily, eyes downcast. Judging by her reaction, Yang could tell she honestly had not been aware of what she was doing. Ruby could mope at times, but she was not one to hurt others intentionally, _especially_ not Weiss.

The older sister continued in a gentler tone:

"Blake told me how depressed Weiss has been recently because you weren't talking to her."

"Depressed?!" Ruby cried.

"The past few nights, she hasn't been doing her homework properly. She got her worst grade ever on an exam, and she keeps skipping dinner to hide away in her room."

"And... And this is all because I wasn't talking to her?"

"Yes." Yang looked at her seriously. "That's what happens when you love someone. You worry about them constantly, and if they start to change and won't open up to you, you worry more and eventually shut down."

"But-! But we all love each other!" Ruby's eyebrows furrowed. "Remember the name we made when we were little? We're team RWBY! We're always gonna be together." Her tone lowered as she cast her eyes to the ground once more. "She's... she's _that_ worried about me?"

"_Yes_. And you never text her, either. I think you should talk to her tomorrow. She just went home crying..."

"C-_Crying?!_" Ruby shrieked. She jumped up, making a move to dash after Weiss and Blake, but Yang grabbed her sleeve.

"Whoa, whoa, there Speedster!" She dragged Ruby back to her seat. "Instead of going after her and embarrassing her when you see her crying-" she searched Ruby's silver eyes and smiled a bit knowingly. "-how about you tell Big Sister Yang what's _really_ going on here, hm?"

Ruby fell silent and started to fidget, twiddling her fingers in her trademark habit of nervousness. Yang waited patiently for what she knew was coming.

At last, Ruby looked up at her with a fierceness in her eyes that had never quite been there before.

"Yang... I think I... like Weiss."

Yang's lips broke out into a wide smile.

"_Like_, huh? Like how you like that Juaney boy?"

"No... he's just a friend," Ruby mumbled. "I think I... I like Weiss how Jaune likes Pyrrha."

"Only you have a much better shot."

"What?"

"Nothing!" Yang chirped. "So you mean you... _like_-like Weiss?"

"I..." Ruby fell silent. She had seen all the movies, heard all the lessons in health class, heard from other people about their relationships...

But Ruby had never felt this way toward anyone else. In fact, none of the four of them – as old as they were now – had ever dated anyone before, not even Yang.

"I don't know..." Ruby muttered. "I mean, we've been friends for so long and she's always looking out for me and helping me with everything and she always worries about me for the stupidest little things and I've just been so nervous around her lately and apparently that made her upset enough to _cry_ and now I feel bad and I just really wanna go talk to her and-"

"Okay, lil sis. I think I get the point," Yang smirked. "You're head-over-heels in love with the princess~"

"I-I'm-!"

"Don't try to deny it! I kind of assumed that was the case, anyway."

"But... what if she doesn't like me back?"

Yang nearly fell off the rock wall.

"Ruby. Ruuuuby, Ruby, Ruby," she chuckled. "I think, of alllll the things to worry about in your fourteen-year-old life right now, Weiss liking you back is the _last_ thing on the list."

"R... Really?" She looked up hopefully.

"Um, _yes?!_ You might not notice the way she looks at you Ruby, but _believe_ me, eeeeverybody else does. She likes you just as much as you like her, if not more. And you can take my word for it. Why else do you think you're the first one she speaks to whenever we meet up? Why do you think she rushes to you after school and asks about your day? Why do you think she tries to help you out with every little thing you do? Why do you think she worries so much and just went home crying? She cares about you_ a lot_, Ruby. More than just friends do."

"...Then... Then you think-?"

"Ruby, I _know,_" Yang reassured her. "So just... talk to her, okay? You don't need to confess right away, or anything like that. But just clear things up a bit. Let her know you're not mad at her and that she doesn't have to worry. And then, when the right time comes, you'll figure things out together about where to go from there."

Her words seemed to put Ruby at ease a bit.

"O...Okay. I'll do that." She nodded in determination. "You... You _really_ think she likes me, too?"

"Trust me," she said, slinging an arm around her sister's shoulders. A moment passed as Ruby contemplated, long enough for an airplane's roar to pass by overhead before she nodded.

Yang grinned. "Now then, let's head on home, shall we?"

"Right!"

They jumped down to the sidewalk and began to walk as the twilight crept in around them.

* * *

Weiss was panicked all the next morning.

Ruby had sent her a text message the night before that read, _"I need to talk to you tomorrow. In person." _

Blake assumed Weiss was worried Ruby would be upset with her, and needed to coax Weiss out of the house, promising everything would be fine.

In the sixteen years she had been living under the Schnee's roof, Blake had never seen her adoptive sister so flustered before in all her life.

Presently, they were walking toward the usual meeting spot, Blake encouraging Weiss to lean on her for support as she rambled. "All I ever do is yell at her... What if they're moving away? What if I'll never get to see her again?"

Another thing that had never changed in the years she had known Weiss was how the white-haired girl loved to jump to conclusions of the worst-case scenario.

Blake thought it would have been a bit comical if Weiss had not been so truthfully unsettled by it all.

"Weiss, that's not what's happening. Everything's going to be fine. I promise." Blake believed in Yang's words enough to confirm them.

Weiss fell silent, trying to straighten her posture as they neared the garden. Shroud sat on the rock wall, tail swishing eagerly when she saw them approach. Ruby and Yang had yet to arrive, so Blake had Weiss sit down and feed the cat the scraps they had taken from last night's dinner.

"So carefree..." Weiss sighed, scratching beneath Shroud's chin. "If you had a house to stay in, you'd have the best life. You don't have to worry about your friends being dolts..."

Blake sat on the cat's other side and petted her as they waited.

A few minutes later, she looked up to see the other sisters approaching, and Weiss got to her feet slowly. Ruby was playing with the hem of her skirt, finding the fuzz there fascinating as she avoided all eye contact.

"Good... Good morning," Weiss said cautiously.

Ruby bowed her head lower as she felt an arm around her shoulders.

"Like I said," Yang muttered to her. "It's not like you have to confess. Just talk to her."

Yang gave her a push forward, leaving Ruby and Weiss a foot away from one another. Weiss fought off her nervousness and brought two fingers beneath the younger girl's chin, lifting her face to look her in the eyes.

"W-Well?" she demanded. "What is it you... wanted to speak to me about?"

Ruby could tell Weiss was scared – probably because she thought Ruby was mad at her – and the brunette felt even stupider for acting so odd around her recently.

Weiss' fingers left her chin and Ruby glanced quickly back at Yang. Her elder sister mouthed the words "just relax!" and yet Ruby was finding that harder and harder to do. Weiss' heart was obviously much more delicate than she ever cared to let on, and the last thing Ruby wanted to do was hurt her again.

She did not want any misunderstandings. She needed to be clear.

Which was why she decided to ignore Yang's advice of "not having to confess right away" and confessed loudly in the middle of the neighborhood instead:

"WEISS, I'M IN LOVE WITH YOU!"

Her voice echoed off the rock walls and fences of property around them.

Shroud scurried from where she had previously sat in Blake's lap.

Blake was left dumbfounded, jaw agape and eyes unblinking in disbelief as a thin sound escaped her lips.

Yang's knees had buckled and she had very nearly fallen over, barely managing to grab onto a street light to support herself.

Ruby's face was redder than the apples Weiss used to take to her teachers in kindergarten.

But Weiss...

Weiss was speechless. Her lips quivered, mouth hanging open, eyes wide as small blue puddles. Her countenance told that she did not believe her ears were working properly. Her shoulders were stiff and posture rigid, and Yang wondered if she was about to faint and if her heart was still beating.

There was a moment of heavy silence, pregnant with something, but no one was quite sure what it was.

Ruby also looked like she was about to fall over; she was shaking just as much as Weiss was, but for different reasons. Even after a minute, she had still received no reply. So Ruby peeked her eyes open and looked at Weiss.

Her mist-blue eyes were wavering, struggling to fight back tears.

Dismay twisted a knot within her chest, and Ruby suddenly felt the urge to move, to run.

"I-I'm sorry-!" She took a step backward but stumbled.

Thankfully, Weiss was not letting her get away. The older girl grasped Ruby's sleeve and pulled her forward just as the tears started to fall down both of their cheeks.

"_You dunce!_" she screamed. She had been so worried, so nervous-

-so delightfully surprised.

Weiss cupped her hands around Ruby's cheeks and kissed her.

* * *

From that day forward, Ruby and Weiss were even more inseparable than they had been in their previous years of friendship.

Yang teased them mercilessly about their confessions and first kiss, always resulting in both of them blushing and clamming up.

But they started holding hands, embracing one another freely, and kissing one another good morning and goodnight. Their teasing of one another became more frequent, but their protectiveness and their unconditional affection also became much more prominent.

It was wonderful to see them both so complete and in love.

It made Yang smile every day, made Blake's eyes light up happily–

–made Yang wonder when the two of them would start seeking out their own happiness.

It would not be long now.

* * *

**A/N: From here on out we focus more on the main relationship of the story; Bumblebee. Though there is still White Rose and sisterly relationships.**

**Ch 3 preview: **_**Yang really wanted to ask how Blake felt about her, but something in her heart held her back.**_

_**Perhaps she did not really want to know the answer. There easily could have been someone else.**_

_**Yang wished she could be special to Blake, more so than anyone else. But she was a coward who could not even bring herself to walk an inch closer to her.**_

**Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: No time skip from the previous chapter. Here, the older girls are still 16 and Ruby 14.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

* * *

Chapter 3.

_**Close your eyes, don't you cry. Love's around you, in time you'll fly.**_

* * *

"Yang, Yang, come oooon!" Ruby was bouncing eagerly in the doorway. "We don't wanna be late!"

"I'm comin', I'm comin'!" Yang called back. "I'm just getting the fish."

"Hurryyyy!"

"It's not like they're going anywhere." The older sister chuckled as she bent down into the refrigerator to locate the food. She pulled the container of diced meat out and made her way over to the door. "This isn't gonna be any different from what we've done in the past. Well... y'know, aside from the fact that you and Weiss are _dating_ now."

"Yaaaang!" Ruby's cheeks went red.

"What? I'm only tellin' the truth!"

"Whatever... Let's just go before I start growing moss!"

"Geez, okay okay."

Yang followed her out the door and into the warm spring day.

It was Saturday, but they were still going to travel the path they took to school. They were going to meet up with Blake and Weiss at the garden to find Shroud and hold a sort of birthday celebration for the cat. Blake had suggested the idea about a year after the girls had met up, and the four of them had held five miniature, yearly celebrations since then.

Today would be the sixth, and Ruby and Yang had made sure to leave some fish from the previous night's dinner and were taking the leftovers with them.

They walked down the familiar path that was worn with the tread of their shoes over the years.

Yang found it fascinating how she had grown so accustomed to the old sidewalk. It was like she had the structure mapped out in her mind; she knew every nook and cranny, how many branches every crack had, how many weeds peeked up in the little holes. There were patterns her eyes had learned to trace so the lines would form pictures.

She could still remember when she was younger and had used to think they looked like fantastical landscapes, spiraling vines and flowers. She had created an entire world in her imagination based off of those cracks in the cement.

Now that she was older, she could look down at them from her taller standpoint and fondly recollect on those innocent memories. She realized now they were just cracks in the sidewalk, but at one point in time they had been so much more to her, and she wanted to treasure that.

Ruby stopped their walk at one point to pick up a caterpillar, giggling as it crawled along her finger before she deposited it into a nearby bush. Yang loved how her sister never changed with little things like that, and she prayed she never would.

When they neared the garden, the blonde was snapped from her reverie when she heard Ruby call out. "Weeeiss! Blaaake!" She dashed ahead to meet up with the two girls, dressed in casual skirts and blouses. Ruby jumped at Weiss and threw her arms around the girl, squeezing her tightly as Weiss stumbled.

"R-Ruby-!"

"I've missed you sooooo muuuch!" Ruby wailed.

"We just saw each other yesterday, you dunce."

"Yeah, but stiiiiill!"

Weiss rolled her eyes and patted Ruby's back, muttering a reminder that they were in plain sight. Blake and Yang chuckled at the display, but when their gazes met one another's, the smiles faded a bit.

"Hi," Yang said simply.

Blake perked up a little when Yang addressed her, and her smile soon returned.

"Hi. Thanks for coming."

"Of course we'd come! It's our lil' kitty's birthday! Well, sorta..." Yang presented Blake with the container of leftover fish she had brought along. "We come bearing gifts!" she grinned.

"Great! I bet she'll love it."

"She'd better," Weiss cut in after finally having pried Ruby off of her. "Blake even saved her some tuna. Blake _never_ leaves tuna unfinished. That cat's got it good."

"Why don't you call for her?" Ruby suggested, turning to Blake.

"Right." Blake bent down a bit to peer over the rock wall and into the garden beyond. It used to be so high up for her, but now it was face-level. She clicked her tongue, making soft chirping sounds as she called for the cat.

Almost instantly, the bushes rustled, and a familiar lithe, black body slipped out, deep amber eyes eager as Shroud reached her. She was certainly healthier than she had been as a kitten, plump as any house cat would be, and although her muzzle was starting to freckle with gray spots, there was still an energy about her that demonstrated her youth.

The cat bumped her head against Blake's hand and the girl let her eager fingers scratch over the soft ears. A purr rumbled almost instantly, and she smiled.

Blake knelt down against the rock wall and Yang soon sat beside her, opening her container of fish and offering a bit for the cat to take. Blake gave some of her own beloved tuna as well, obliging in a belly rub when Shroud flopped over in a display of trust that had developed between them many years ago.

Ruby and Weiss were a few feet away, breaking off stems of wild weeds that sprouted by a patch of trees beside the house. They dangled the feathered ends before the cat, moving them about in scurrying motions that resembled small animals.

The girls spent about an hour that way, playing and petting and feeding Shroud while simultaneously chatting amongst themselves. At one point, the owner of the house - a blonde woman with glasses named Glynda, who happened to be a teacher at Beacon, Yang had found out - came out to greet them.

This was always one of Yang's favorite days of the year, and though the four of them did similar things often, she found herself fearful at the thought of it all having to come to an end one day.

But she shook those thoughts away and focused on the girls she loved, smirking and teasing her sister and calling Ruby out on her not-so-subtle attempts to entwine her fingers with Weiss'. The older girl blushed a bit, but quickly grabbed the brunette's hand as they sat side by side and played with the cat.

Yang looked to her other side where Blake was sitting, reading pleasantly to herself, holding her book in her lap with one hand while the other... seemed a bit lonely at her side.

Yang inched her fingers toward hers slowly and swallowed a bit hard. But just before she could make contact, she stopped herself and recoiled.

Before long, Shroud returned to her shelter of the garden, the girls parted ways, and Yang saw Ruby and Weiss engage in their usual embrace before sharing a sweet kiss.

It was becoming more frequent that witnessing the scene left Yang longing to hug Blake.

She sought out the other girl's eyes, and smiled when she found them. She wanted to believe Blake smiled back, but her golden gaze flicked away quickly as she hurried to her sister's side.

Yang's shoulders slumped a bit as Ruby bounced back to her. The blonde plastered on a grin and offered a cheery goodbye to the Schnee sisters before she and Ruby headed off back toward home.

* * *

About halfway through her senior year, Weiss announced she had made plans for college.

They were on their morning walk, having just finished feeding Shroud who was now a bit past her prime at seven years old, yet still strong and healthy thanks to their efforts.

The second Weiss brought the topic up, Ruby cried out and grasped her hands tightly.

"Weiss, don't! You can't leave me behind!" she wailed. "I mean I know college is a really, _really_ big deal b-but I-"

"Could you stop blabbering and listen to me for five seconds?" Weiss sighed. "If you'd let me finish, you'd be happy to know I don't plan to go terribly far. Father wants me to stay as close as possible for the sake of keeping an eye on the company. Our jewelry stores have been doing exceptionally well as of recently, and we've found a university with perfect courses for my particular field of work."

Ruby seemed to relax a bit more at that and cautiously wondered, "How... How far away is it?"

Weiss gave a reassuring smile and ruffled her girlfriend's hair.

"It's but an hour out of your way."

Ruby's silver eyes brightened as she happily threw her arms around Weiss.

"I'm so glaaaad!" she squealed. "So are you gonna live on campus then?"

"I was debating it, but I'd rather not. Commuting would be less expensive overall. So long as I wake up early, our hired driver would be able to take me to my classes and home again. Living there would just be unnecessary costs that could be put to better use for Blake's college plans."

Again, Ruby sighed in relief at the notion of not having to say goodbye to her girlfriend and deal with her living on the other side of the world.

The mention of Blake's education caused Yang to perk up then, and she stole a glance at the girl walking quietly beside her, eyes scanning the pages of her book expertly even as she sauntered.

Blake seemed to have taken notice of the girl's straying eyes and she pointedly continued to read. But Yang asked anyway:

"So, Blake. What are your plans for college? You're probably going to the same place as Weiss, right? You two can run the family business together! You can be the Schnee Jewelry Company's Black and White Sisters! That'd be a pretty awesome partnership if you ask-"

"Actually," Blake cut her enthusiastic discourse off before Yang could get any more excited with her delusions. "I wanna be a writer, and while the school Weiss is going to has a good program for that, its main focus is for those going into family business. So it's probably not the place for me."

"Oh..." Yang bit her lip. She did not want to ask, but she had to. "So... where are you going?"

Blake was silent a moment longer, her pace slowing a bit. She maintained a stoic expression, her eyes flicking over the lines of words though her mind comprehended nothing at all. She sighed.

"I'm going across the country. There's a really good school for writers there, and since Weiss' school is more or less inexpensive all things considered, our parents are allowing me to go."

Yang's throat tightened as a stinging sensation caused her nose to wrinkle slightly.

Blake was... leaving?

She had not realized she had stopped walking altogether until Ruby's voice brought her back to the present.

"Yang?" She spoke softly, which made Yang aware of the fact that she must have looked as hollow as she felt. Blake was clearly troubled about Yang's reaction to her revelation as well, and she reached out to brush her fingers against the back of the other girl's hand almost subconsciously.

Upon feeling the contact, both of them locked eyes before recoiling, as though stung by wasps.

"It's not that bad," Blake murmured, returning her eyes to her book as Yang slowly started to walk again. "I'll still be coming back for breaks and things like that."

"Yeah..." Yang's voice was thin and distracted. She knew what college entailed, knew of all the new people Blake would meet and make friends with, get into relationships with...

Like Weiss, Blake was not the kind of girl to fool around and date frivolously; even in all this time since her seventeenth year, she had not once gone out with someone else.

But Yang had heard stories about college from her own acquaintances, how easy it was to give into the temptations when living in such close quarters with others, bonding with them until it was almost wrong _not_ to take romantic action.

She wanted to believe the reserved girl she had more or less grown up with was not like that, but Yang could not deny reality.

Blake was silent; she could almost tell exactly what Yang was thinking, and was a bit hurt by it. She had confessed her affections for the blonde girl to Weiss many months ago, right after she and Ruby had started dating. Weiss had declared how she had known all along, noticed the way Blake would always smile around Yang and walk close to her.

"And believe me," she had said. "The oaf likes you, too. Why, the way she looks at you with those eyes of hers could make even Father blush! Believe me, Blake. Don't worry about her not returning your feelings. You're fine."

But now, Blake was beginning to doubt her sister's words, judging by how quickly Yang had yanked her hand away. And now she was assuming Blake would go off and start kissing the first person she saw when she went away?

Her stomach twisted with all sorts of emotions then – frustration, fear, uncertainty – and she said nothing more as she continued to walk.

Similarly, Yang was remembering a conversation she had held with Ruby a few months prior:

_"Yang, you like Blake, don't you?"_

_"W-What?" She had sputtered her energy drink from where she stood at the refrigerator. "What makes you say that?"_

_"It's kind of um, _suuuper_ obvious?" Ruby chuckled. "I think you're worse than I was, in a way!"_

_Yang had heaved a sigh. "Yeah, but... I don't think she likes me back."_

_"What?!" Ruby cried. "Yang, please. Do you think she'd be walking to school with us every day if she didn't like us? Plus, you're always sticking up for her. Remember that time you beat up Cardin Winchester? Plus... between you and me, Weiss told me how Blake talks about you all the time at home. Just as much as Weiss talks about me." _

_She had given her elder sister a pat on the shoulder and a reassuring smile. "I may be younger than you, but in the romance field, I'm more experienced now! So trust me on this, Yang. She likes you, too." _

And yet now, as she walked their trademark path on their morning route together, Yang found her little sister's words very hard to believe. Blake had fallen silent, an unreadable expression on her face as she continued to read, yet Yang realized she had not turned the page in a long while.

She decided to suck things up and try anyway; no way was she going to let her little sister show her up on things like these.

"Hey, Blake!" she said, perhaps a bit louder than intended. "What'cha reading?"

Blake actually looked up in surprise due to how random the question was.

"Ah, not much. Just... a romance novel..." she muttered, quickly flicking her gaze back down.

"Romance, huh?" Yang offered a smile, wondering if her cheeks were really as pink as she felt they were. She took a casual step closer to Blake, mirroring the distance she saw between Ruby and Weiss in front of them. Ruby stole a glance back over her shoulder to silently cheer her sister on with a smile.

But Blake dropped her book and had to bend down to scoop it up, and when she stood again, the initial distance was separating them again. Yang could not tell if it had been intentional or not; it certainly had not seemed that way.

Yet the frown on Ruby's lips and the sinking feeling in Yang's own heart caused her to sigh, and she did not try to move closer to Blake again.

Instead, she smiled a little as she watched Ruby and Weiss ahead of her, holding hands contentedly and seemingly without a care in the world.

* * *

A few days later, it was raining.

Yang and Ruby huddled beneath an umbrella on their walk to school, jackets zippered up and hoods pulled over their heads. They met up with Weiss and Blake whose appearances were much the same; Blake in particular hated the rain.

Ruby left the shelter of their umbrella briefly on her way to hug Weiss, and ended up staying beside her. This left Blake and Yang together, and the blonde did her best to make sure Blake was covered, going so far as to let her right shoulder get completely drenched.

The dark-haired girl stuck close to Yang that morning, but only out of necessity it seemed.

Yang wanted to ask her what was wrong, why she was acting like this recently, but she also did not want to pry. Blake seemed fine around Ruby and Weiss and whatever other friends Yang saw her with on occasion... so why just her? What had she done?

She really wanted to ask how Blake felt about her, but something in her heart held her back.

Perhaps she did not really want to know the answer. There easily could have been someone else.

Yang wished she could be special to Blake, more so than anyone else. But she was a coward who could not even bring herself to walk an inch closer to her.

They reached the garden and Blake called out for Shroud, Yang standing over her with the umbrella. The black cat emerged from the shelter of her bush, a bit damp but surprisingly dry overall, considering the downpour. Blake dug into her pocket and retrieved the leftover food she had brought along, watching with a smile as the cat gobbled it up.

When she stood again, Shroud had slunk back to her bush, and Blake had to step close to Yang again. The blonde noticed how her smile instantly faded, feet shuffling an extra inch to the side. She sighed under her breath, the sound being drowned out by the rain as they parted ways for their respective schools.

As usual, Ruby and Weiss shared a brief kiss, and as usual, Blake and Yang gave small waves, nods, and half-hearted smiles.

It rained all day without letting up, and Yang could not help but feel the weather was directly reflecting her mood, the swirling turmoil inside her chest that had not settled down in weeks.

She was getting further and further away from Blake, and she could not figure out why. But she needed it to stop, and she knew that for a fact.

Yang just wished there was some way that could happen...

The fates were certainly cruel.

When the school day had ended, the four girls regrouped as usual. Weiss was making faces and shaking water off her shoes every other step.

"We should just try to get home as quickly as possible," she grunted.

"Ah..." Ruby's dismayed sound indicated that would not be happening just yet. "I forgot my textbook in the classroom."

"You dolt!" Weiss chided. "Do you need it?"

"Yeah, there's a test tomorrow."

"Ugh. Then it can't be helped. I'll go back with you." She ushered Ruby under her umbrella and pushed Blake beside Yang. "Wait for us by the garden. We'll be as quick as we can."

"Okay." Yang nodded. "But don't slip and fall and hurt yourselves, please!" she called out after their retreating forms.

The rain continued to hiss and pour, splashing into the puddles at their feet. Yang stood a moment in silence with Blake at her side before the other girl turned around.

"Come on. Let's get going. I want to see how Shroud is in all this rain."

Yang leaned the umbrella over Blake's head a bit more.

"Yeah."

She followed Blake who took off at a somewhat quick pace, and Yang could not help but wonder if she was deliberately being avoided. It seemed that was the case more and more frequently as of late, at least to her anyway.

Cars zipping down the street sent a spray of excess water in their wakes, and Yang made sure to walk on the street side, covering Blake as best she could.

As they walked down the familiar sidewalk toward Glynda's house, Yang watched the rivers flowing down the sides of the street, pooling at the drains. Gutters were overflowing and puddles grew deeper by the second. She could not remember the last time it had rained so hard.

"Geez, this is insane..." she muttered.

But Blake had not been listening. As they neared the designated garden, she noticed the entire expanse of soil had been flooded, many of the plants uprooted or swaying helplessly in the water. When she noticed the water had reached the bushes Shroud usually resided in, her heart started to pound a little harder.

"Yang..." Blake's voice was thin.

The blonde girl perked up immediately, almost dumbfounded as she tried to remember the last time Blake had said her name. But she had never heard her sound so fragile before.

"W-What is it?" She tried to step closer to Blake, but the girl's golden eyes were fixated ahead of her.

"We should-"

But her words were cut off when a loud noise sounded, causing both girls to jump.

The gutter of Glynda's house had been swelling with rainwater, and it finally gave, part of the end falling down into the garden below as a small waterfall followed it.

The sound clawed panic through Yang; it was the sound of destruction amidst a relentless storm, something all people feared in the center of their beings. It made her freeze in place, a bit startled.

But she was too late to realize what had happened.

The noise of the gutter had not only frightened the two girls on the sidewalk.

A streak of black darted from the bush in the garden, pelting over drowning earth and scrambling desperately down the slippery rock wall.

The cat dashed wildly, blindly into the street as another car approached.

Blake dropped her bag, her books - _everything_ \- as she ran forward, faster than she had ever moved before in all her life. All rational thought was thrown from her mind as she sprinted toward the street.

But Yang snapped out of her trance.

She threw the umbrella down and tore after the girl.

It all happened so fast.

"Blake, _no!_"

She threw herself at Blake, locking her arms around her securely and breaking her mad dash into the road. It took a lot more of her strength than Yang thought it would to hold her back.

Blake thrashed desperately in her arms, her nails clawing at her sleeves and the flesh of her hands, legs kicking as she tried to force the other girl off of her.

"Yang-!" She screamed until her lungs burned. "YANG, _LET ME GO!_"

But Yang could not let that happen.

"I'm sorry..." She buried her face in Blake's hair.

The younger girl felt the crushing grip around her torso tighten even harder as two fateful words were whispered into her ear on a broken sob:

_"Don't look..." _

The car was already upon Shroud who skittered in the rain in terror.

But Blake could not close her eyes, no matter how badly she wanted to. She just could not.

There was a screech of tires.

The hissing of rain.

A dull thud.

The car sped away, leaving a small, black shape behind.

Blake could feel herself shattering, Yang's vicelike grip around her the only thing that prevented her from doing so.

"N...o..."

There was a thickness in her voice and she choked. A bile rose in her throat, and she could not swallow. Tears streamed down her cheeks in rivulets even harder than the rain, and her eyes were wide and hollow. She was faintly aware of Yang crying into her back, but her senses were mostly dulled now.

Yang could not bear to look up as she continued to cling to Blake. She could not stifle her cries very well, too terrified when she realized what had just happened-

-what _could_ have happened if she had not stopped Blake in time.

She could feel Blake's heartbeat thundering in her chest, reverberating into her back and throughout her entire body as she witnessed the death of the cat she had raised religiously and flawlessly for over eight years.

She felt the same heartbeat come to a gradual descent of speed and severity, felt Blake begin to tremble, gasp, sob...

Blake lifted her shaking hands and peeled Yang off of her, stumbling forward. Yang almost lost her balance without the girl's support, but she let her go.

As much as she hated to – as much as her entire being told her not to – she let her go.

Blake limped across the vacant street to where the shape of her beloved cat lie motionless. Shroud had made it so close to the other side, just another foot and...

Blake slumped to her knees, water splashing up all around her as she gathered the lifeless body in her arms. Blood matted her drenched fur, her head lolling to one side, weight heavy.

Blake could not breathe. She could not even cry out like she wanted to. She just kept choking, shoulders heaving with shallow breaths as water dripped past her lips, warm and salty, cold and sharp.

Her voice refused to work aside from the feeble wails that rose from the back of her throat, like small parts of her soul slowly being extracted from her spirit.

Everything was cold and wet and she felt like her lungs were clogged and flooding even more so than the gutters on the houses around her.

At some point, Yang had hobbled her way over and collapsed to her knees beside Blake, gently wrapping her in her arms. Yang was crying too, and realizing that was what confirmed the situation as reality and broke Blake entirely.

She screamed, her voice rising up in powerful sobs that raked her body in violent shudders, tearing from her chest and out through her lips, high-pitched, open-mouthed gasps and sobs that made Yang's ears hurt, made her own tears fall faster.

Yang had loved Shroud just as much as the rest of them, though none could ever have loved her as dearly as Blake had.

But Yang loved Blake more.

She could not imagine what might have happened if she had let her go a second earlier.

Yang's voice tumbled from her mouth in blubbering stammers of words, drowned out by Blake's mournful cries and the sounds of the rain:

"Sh-Shhh... s-s-shhhh..." Yang soothed the girl in her arms as best she could.

But she kept hearing the message in Blake's sobs:

"_Why didn't you let me go?_"

However, she did not care if Blake would hate her for the rest of her life, so long as she had a life to _live_.

Yang held her close as the sobbing continued. She could feel every delicate tremble of Blake's body, every breath that hitched in her throat and tangled in her windpipe, every throb of her aching heart.

Yang buried her face in the girl's shoulder and it hurt her more than she ever knew it could. She did not know what more she could do than hold the girl and kiss the top of her head, over and over again.

Eventually, the echoes of their cries brought their sisters running to them a few minutes later, both of them already frantic and crying when they arrived and fell to their knees in the small river flowing down the side of the street.

They cried of uncertainty and fear, terrified that one of them had been hurt.

They cried in realization and the most crushing heartbreak when they saw the unmoving bundle of fur in Blake's arms.

They cried in relief that it had not been Blake herself.

Weiss was a wreck when she imagined what could have become of her sister, and she felt the oncoming signs of a panic attack seizing her. Ruby started to cry harder when she saw her girlfriend doubled over in pain, gasping for breath that was not coming properly.

Ruby whimpered and wept as she embraced her, begging her to calm down, terrified when she could feel Weiss' heart racing, hammering against her ribcage. The older girl's trembling hands curled in Ruby's lap as she was pulled into the brunette's embrace. Weiss just could not stop shaking.

R-R-Ru... by..." She coughed, panting now. "B-Blake... oh g-go...d..."

"Shh, Weiss..." Ruby did her best to sound composed, needing to stay strong for Weiss if nothing else. "It's... o-okay... Blake's here..." She shifted Weiss closer to her sister, letting her hold Blake for herself.

Weiss broke down softly, though Blake was hardly aware of her presence.

Ruby held them both as best she could, and Yang kept her arms around them all.

The four of them continued to hold one another, arms shaking and hearts heavy as they cried.

And like the rain, the tears did not stop for a long, long time.

* * *

**A/N:  
**

**Ch 4 preview: _Their mother consented to letting them visit the Schnee sisters, as she knew how close they were, but she insisted that she drive them there. _**

_**As Ruby and Yang settled into the car, they hardly spoke. Yang, who normally took the passenger seat when they were with one parent, now sat in the back with Ruby, silently buckling her seat belt and turning to look out the window. Ruby wanted to ask why she was suddenly choosing to sit in the back with her, but she realized the answer before she could inquire. **_

_**The passenger seat was for adults, but today, Yang was just a nervous kid.**_

**Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks as always for the reviews and support! This was meant to be a short chapter compared to the others. You can see how well _that_ plan turned out...**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

* * *

Chapter 4.

_**I'm close by, I'll stay here. Through all things I will be near.**_

* * *

None of them went to school the next day.

All they could manage was a weak, reassuring call on Ruby's part.

She was a bit nervous when the Schnees' father answered, sounding troubled about his daughters' wellbeing. Evidently, Blake and Weiss had not eaten dinner last night after the hectic events that had transpired, nor had they eaten so far that morning.

When she requested the phone be passed to her girlfriend, Ruby's heart sank when she heard Weiss' voice.

"Hi, Ruby..."

It was thin and cracked and wavering with the beginnings of a forced smile thrown in. Nothing like she had ever heard Weiss speak like before. It worried her.

"Weiss... are you okay?" She felt her own voice on the verge of chokin already.

There was a feeble chuckle in response.

"Not exactly. It's complicated..." she confessed. "But I'm more worried about Blake... She hasn't eaten or said a word. She's locked in her room, but... I can't even go to her..."

Ruby listened with a constricting lump in her throat that thickened as Weiss explained her condition. Her panic attack from the previous evening had been so detrimental on her health that she could no longer walk. Upon trying to get out of bed that morning, she had fallen instantly and had been rendered physically unable to eat, and only a few of the fluids and medicines she was given stayed down. Her parents had called for a doctor immediately to have her examined. Weiss begged them to do the same for Blake, but it was no use.

"We've tried everything, honey," her mother had sighed, leaning in gently to hug Weiss. "This was a really terrible event for the both of you. It's going to take some time to come to terms with everything, especially for Blake. When I knocked on her door and called her for breakfast, she said she wanted to talk to you, but..." She had shaken her head. "You need to recover, too."

Weiss realized her sister's pain was more emotional while her own was physical, so naturally her parents sought to help her first. But Weiss knew for a fact that Blake's pain was just as bad, if not worse. She wanted to get out of bed as quickly as possible and go to her, but as things were now, that was impossible.

Ruby listened to her girlfriend's words with frustrated tears in her eyes. She knew this mess would affect them all, but she never thought it would be _this _bad...

By this time, Yang had sat down beside her on the couch; she had also barely said a word since last night.

It was then Ruby thought of something that would surely start to mend things a little between them.

"Hey, Weiss?" Ruby asked quietly. "Can I... can Yang and I come over to visit?"

When she mentioned Yang's name, her elder sister sent her a surprised look before quickly shaking her head. But Ruby did not get the chance to ask what was wrong before Weiss spoke again.

"I... I'd love to have you here, Ruby. I think it would help a lot." There was a flicker of life in her voice now that gave it strength. But her tone soon lowered regretfully. "Unfortunately... I don't think, ah... I don't think Blake really... wants to see Yang right now... She's more than welcome to visit, though."

But Yang's shoulders had already slumped; she had heard Weiss' reply clearly. Blake did not want anything to do with her.

Yang rose heavily to her feet, and Ruby quickly finished up her conversation with Weiss before hanging up and following her sister.

"Yang, I think you should come," she insisted. "Despite what Weiss said... I think Blake really _does_ want to see you."

"No, Ruby." Yang's reply was hoarse, as though she had not spoken all day, which may have been just the case. Ruby could not remember. "She doesn't want to see me. That's a fact if I've ever heard one. This whole thing is my fault anyway..."

"Yang, stop it!" Ruby shouted. "You can't go blaming yourself for what happened! It's not your fault Shroud died or that Weiss had a panic attack! It was an accident, and it could've been a million times worse if you hadn't been there! I-If you hadn't been there then-"

"Ruby, _please_ don't say it-"

"If you hadn't been there, Blake might be dead right now!" she screamed defiantly.

"_Damn it_, Ruby!" Yang hissed, her hands balling into fists as tears welled in her eyes.

"You know I'm right..." Ruby lowered her voice, also sniffling now. "Yang, you saved us all from a much worse tragedy than what happened." She took her sister's hands in hers and slowly uncurled her painfully-tight fingers, rubbing her thumb over Yang's palms. "Come with me. Please?" Her silver eyes were imploring and scared, scared of going to the Schnee's house alone, scared of what kind of state she might find them in.

Yang never _could_ say no to her sister.

With a defeated sigh, she followed Ruby over to their hall closet and slipped on her shoes.

Their mother had opted to stay home from work today in order to keep her daughters company as they recovered from the traumatizing ordeal, and Ruby went to her and explained what was going on. She consented to letting them visit the Schnee sisters, as she knew how close they lived, but she insisted that she drive them there.

As Ruby and Yang settled into the car, they hardly spoke. Yang, who normally took the passenger seat when they were with one parent, now sat in the back with Ruby, silently buckling her seat belt and turning to look out the window.

Ruby wanted to ask why she was suddenly choosing to sit in the back with her, but she realized the answer before she could inquire. The passenger seat was for adults, but today, Yang was just a nervous kid.

As they drove, the only sounds were of the light music from the radio and the breeze from the rolled-down windows. As they got to the area of town near Glynda's house, Yang promptly turned herself away from the window and closed her eyes, not wanting to remember anything.

When at last they reached the Schnee residence - a large mansion that was not unfamiliar - they all walked to the door together. Mrs. Schnee answered, and the two mothers exchanged greetings and went to the living room to speak; one of each family's daughters had been dating for some time now, so the parents were all well-acquainted.

Before joining the women, Mr. Schnee pulled Ruby and Yang aside as they were removing their shoes.

"Blake only wants to speak to her sister," he cautioned them. "But Weiss needs rest right now. Please refrain from letting her get out of bed, despite how much she'll request it."

"Yes, sir." Ruby and Yang both nodded seriously to him before heading for the stairs.

The winding staircase echoed with the soft patter of their footsteps as they ascended. Yang held back a bit as she followed her sister into Weiss' room first.

The girl was laying propped up in her bed, supported by pillows, hair down and dressed in pajamas that were too big for her. Various bottles of medication were set on her bedside table. Weiss cracked a small smile when she heard them enter, her eyes shining a little as they met her girlfriend's.

"Hi, Ruby." Her voice was still hoarse with exhaustion, contradicting the gleam in her gaze. Ruby went to her instantly, pausing before she could wrap her arms around Weiss, scared she might hurt her.

"Weiss... c-can I-?"

"Of course you can, you dunce."

With relief, Ruby pulled her into an embrace, Weiss reaching up to do the same. The last time Ruby had held her like this, Weiss was sobbing, freezing, and agonizingly short on breath.

But now, she was calmer, warmer, and Ruby held her a little bit tighter.

When they parted, Ruby realized how pale Weiss' face was and recalled she had not eaten since lunchtime yesterday.

"Weiss... you still can't eat?"

"Oh, come now. Don't give me that look." Weiss reached up to push Ruby's bangs aside, revealing her furrowed brow. "The doctor said I'll be fine by tomorrow and can go back to school the day after." She offered a reassuring smile for a brief moment, but it soon faded. "I'm not the one you should be worrying about right now. Medicine will heal me, but... it's not that simple with Blake." She exhaled a withering sigh as her eyes flashed guiltily up at Ruby. "I know my parents advised against it, and my doctor did as well, but... please take me to my sister," she begged.

"No way, princess," Yang spoke up for the first time. "Your father told us specifically-"

"I know what my father said." Weiss raised her voice to stop Yang's. "But I need to talk to her. I need to see her. I-I need to... hold her..." Without her realizing it, the tears had already begun to flow.

Panicking, Ruby found Weiss' hands and rubbed them gently, murmuring softly to her as she kissed her cheek. She knew Weiss was plagued by thoughts of what could have – what had _almost_ – happened. She could not bear the thought of losing Blake. She needed the confirmation of her presence one more time to hold her together.

She lifted her gaze again after a moment, offering a plea both sisters found impossible to refuse:

"_Please_..."

It was the request of a girl at her breaking point, perhaps even past that already. The kind of request that would never allow Ruby and Yang to forgive themselves if they denied it.

The brunette looked to her elder sister, torn between listening to her girlfriend or Weiss' father. There was pain in Ruby's eyes, and Yang could not bear to see that. They all knew Blake would speak only to Weiss anyway, so perhaps that was where they needed to start in the dark-haired girl's recovery as well.

Quietly, Yang approached Weiss' bed, giving a small nod to Ruby. Her sister went to Weiss' side, supporting her shoulders and slowly helping slide the girl's legs off the bed. The white-haired girl passed a grateful look to each of the sisters as she pressed her bare feet to the floor, testing her weight a bit as Ruby tensely gripped her shoulders.

Weiss' legs wobbled slightly, and she stood slowly. But evidently, it was still too quickly for her body to handle.

A rush of motion instantly crashed over her, making her head throb, her stomach twisting with nausea. She slipped from Ruby's grasp and fell forward, Yang only just barely managing to dart forward and catch her.

"_Weiss_-!" Ruby wailed. "Oh, god-"

"Whoa, whoa there!" Yang held Weiss tightly as she guided her back to the bed and back into Ruby's embrace. "Yeah, sorry princess, but you're not going anywhere."

"Weiss... Weiss! Are you okay?" Ruby whimpered, cupping her hand to the girl's cheek. Her girlfriend gave her a dizzied look, her gaze shifty and unfocused as she slumped forward slightly. "_Weiss?!_"

"I'm fine..." she wheezed unconvincingly. "Ruby, please, I- I just want to see Blake... please..."

"It's okay," Ruby soothed. "Weiss, Blake's okay. Blake's fine. Nothing happened to her. Sh-She's just down the hall in her room, she's okay... _you're_ okay..." She swallowed thickly, tears streaming down her face and mixing with Weiss' in their laps.

She kissed Weiss' forehead, murmuring soothing words to her, but it seemed only one thing could give Weiss the reassurance she needed.

Ruby looked helplessly to her sister, her eyes tortured and scared as Weiss sobbed into her shoulder.

Yang could not take any more of this. She bit her lip as she leaned down, wrapping her arms around both girls gently.

"Don't worry. I'll get Blake here. I promise. So take it easy, princess. Ruby's here for you." She brushed her fingertips through Weiss' hair, hoping she had heard her.

Yang then leaned down to her sister's ear, whispering under her breath, "I'm so proud of you, sis. You're doing great. Take care of her and leave Blake to me." She pulled away with a grin, lightly ruffling Ruby's hair. Her sister seemed to have calmed down now that Weiss was in her arms, and she sent Yang a grateful look.

"Thanks, Yang. I mean it."

"I know you do." Yang kissed the top of her head briefly. "Now sit tight. I might be a little while, but I'll get her here."

She let the younger girls go and headed for the door, smiling softly as she watched Ruby comforting Weiss. Yang really could not be more proud of her little sister.

Yang closed Weiss' door behind her and slowly began walking down the hallway. She could hear the distant murmur of their parents' voices as they chatted; the more serious tones and words from earlier as they had discussed their daughters' conditions had been traded for somewhat lighter, more easygoing voices now. That was good; Yang did not want them worrying more than they had to.

She walked slowly, trying not to make too much noise as she went to Blake's door. She knew there was no use in knocking but she did it anyway, two light taps with her knuckles. "Blake..."

Yang hardly knew where to start. She pictured exactly what the other girl was doing right now, curled up beneath her blankets, stubbornly ignoring her growling stomach in a room dark from curtains that prevented the sunlight from entering. Yang did not expect an answer, but she at least wanted to be sure Blake was listening.

Unfortunately, she had no means by which to prove that to herself, so she opted to lean her back against the door, sliding down to sit on the floor. Yang had comforted Ruby countless times before for various reasons, but she had no idea how to deal with other people, not even a close friend like Blake.

Blake was like another sister to her in some ways, despite the complicated emotions that went into things.

But in all the years Yang had known her, she had never had to deal with something like this. The worst that had happened between them until now was stressing over school or finding part-time jobs, and the most she had ever done for Blake was defend her from bullies.

But this pain was something Yang could not punch or shout at or shoo away. She had no idea what to do.

But she had made a promise to Ruby and Weiss, and she knew she needed to try _something_.

"Blake, listen to me," she sighed, trying to arrange her thoughts. "I can't even begin to imagine the pain you're going through right now. Shroud, she-" she realized a second too late it might not have been the best idea to say the cat's name right now, but she pressed on. "She was like a child to you. You raised her more than any of us did. We all loved her, but you... you were closest to her. You had a connection. You have every right to grieve and be sad and feel hurt. I'm not saying you can't do that, but I wish you wouldn't do it alone."

As she spoke, she was unaware of Blake on the other side of the door.

She lie in bed, her face buried in a dampened pillow case that was still drying from the previous night's tears. She was a bit surprised that Yang was here, but she knew she should not be; that girl never seemed to stay away from her.

Part of Blake wanted to get up, if not to go to her door, then at least to open the window and let in some air, but-

She whimpered softly as another swell of emotion rose within her, listening to Yang's words as she recounted memories of their beloved cat:

"Blake, I loved Shroud because she was the number one reason you smiled." Yang wished she could have made Blake smile as often. "Whenever you played with her... you got this look in your eyes, and I loved-"

It hurt.

That word.

"I loved watching you... I loved that look in your eyes. And I loved Shroud because... in a way, she's what brought us together in the first place. If not for her, I probably never would have met you, and my sister wouldn't be so happy with yours..."

She lowered her tone seriously then.

"But... even though Ruby's with her right now, Weiss isn't happy. None of us are after what happened, but Weiss..." She paused, trying to think things through before she spoke.

As she arranged things in her mind, she heard movement from inside the room, blankets shifting, timid footsteps creaking across the floor, a soft noise as Blake knelt down on the other side of the door. Yang knew the mention of her sister had concerned the girl; though she was always treated as the younger sibling, Blake was technically older, and she cared for Weiss just as deeply as Weiss did for her.

"What..." Her voice was cracked from all the screaming she had done the evening before, all the crying throughout the night. "_What_... about Weiss?"

Yang savored the sound of her voice, weak as it may have been; it gave _her_ the comfort she needed.

"That's right..." she murmured. "Yesterday you were so distraught... I don't even think you were aware of anything else... Do you remember when Ruby and Weiss found us? When our parents came and took us home?"

Her only reply was silence.

"I thought so." Yang continued, reciting what Ruby had told her after calling Weiss last night, the things she had heard from Weiss herself. "Your sister was a mess, Blake. She had a really bad panic attack when she found you. You passed out in the car but they took Weiss to the hospital. Her heart was really strained. They had to give her medication to knock her out so she'd calm down. Even when she woke up again, she was badly shaken. And now..."

Yang trailed off for a second when she heard Blake gasp in dismay. But before the girl could start blaming herself for Weiss' present condition, Yang promptly continued.

"Now she's weak and sick and she can't even get out of bed. The medicine won't help her. Only one person can help her now, and Weiss has been asking to see her for hours." She leaned her head back against the door with a light thud. "Blake, please come out. For your sister."

She paused again before speaking with the utmost delicacy. "Shroud's gone, Blake, but we're still here, and right now, Weiss needs you. _We_ need you."

Thankfully, she did not need to say any more.

On the other side of the door, Blake stood shakily to her feet, leaning against the wooden frame heavily for support. Yang heard the soft hiccups between whimpers of Weiss' name, laced amidst broken apologies. The door knob clicked and the blonde scrambled to her feet as she turned to face the door.

The door creaked open slowly to reveal a girl who was the definition of terrified. Both hands clutched at her chest as she wobbled two steps forward on shaking legs. Her entire body was shivering now, and there were dark circles under her eyes, stretching down into her puffy red cheeks that were drenched with salty lines. New rivulets cascaded down her face now, the tears joining into the already-existent dampness leaking down her neck and into the fabrics of her shirt. Past her quivering lips spilt her sister's name again and again, tumbling out like a broken promise:

"Weiss... W-Weiss..."

She blinked her golden eyes open for a fraction of a second and looked up at Yang imploringly. Her arid throat constricted with another sob as she stumbled forward, giving Yang an excuse to move. She caught Blake in her arms and sunk to the floor with her, holding her tightly as she ran her hands up and down her back, through her hair, over her shuddering shoulders.

"Shhh, don't worry. I've got you," she whispered. Their positions now reminded her of yesterday during the rainstorm, after the accident.

But this was different now. Rather than grief, Blake was crying for better reasons – wanting to see her sister, wanting to make sure she was alright. Yang knew Weiss was probably at her limit by now as well.

Blinking away the tears in her own eyes, Yang coaxed the girl back to her feet once her crying had slowed a bit. Gradually, she helped Blake down the hallway, steadying her limping gait as they neared Weiss' door.

Yang rubbed her left hand over Blake's shoulders. "Come on, don't make that face in front of her," she murmured as her free hand went to the door and knocked twice. "Ruby?"

A few soothing words were spoken to Weiss in Ruby's voice, followed by a quick scrambling of feet across the floor as her younger sister bolted toward it, opening it breathlessly.

"Yang-!" She gasped, worry lacing her voice while her eyebrows furrowed in concern above her silver eyes. "Weiss is- oh-!" She cut off instantly when she saw whom Yang had brought with her, watery silver eyes meeting quickly with gold. "Oh, Blake! Oh, thank god! I was so worried!" She threw her arms around the older girl who seemed so much smaller now.

Blake sniffled and returned the embrace lightly, having forgotten how much she had missed Ruby's contact until now.

"Hi, Ruby..." she murmured.

"Oh, Blake. I'm so sorry. But I'm so glad you're okay. Weiss-" She looked up sharply. "That's right! B-Blake come on!" She grasped both of Blake's hands in hers and brought her forward into the room, making sure to mouth a grateful "thanks" to her elder sister.

Yang followed them inside, hoping it would not be too crowded or overwhelming for Weiss. The white-haired girl was propped up in bed where Ruby had left her a moment ago, fresh tears dripping down into her lap.

But when Ruby called her name softly, the girl lifted her head. Her eyes blinked away the excess tears and Weiss gasped.

"B-Blake-?"

The sight of her sister caused the barricade holding back the tears to burst. Weiss reached out with arms that trembled and fingers that curled needfully toward her. "Blake... B-Blake-! Oh, god..."

Ruby ushered the dark-haired girl forward toward the bed, and Blake had already started to cry as well.

"Weiss... Weiss...?"

A gentle pat on her back sent her forward, covering the last foot of distance between her sister and herself.

Blake crawled onto the bed and slipped into her shaking arms. Weiss crushed Blake to her with every ounce of force left in her body. Blake wailed aloud as she did the same, sobbing apologies into her shoulder as Weiss hushed her. A soothing hum emitted from her throat, soft and smooth, and its purpose was to cajole.

Before long, Blake's whimpers had quieted and the tension left her shoulders. She succumbed to slumber she had not gotten last night in Weiss' arms now, just as she had done so many times before in their younger days.

With a silent request in her eyes, Weiss looked to the sisters. They obliged and went to the bed, carefully lying both girls down on their sides. Weiss kept her embrace on Blake, pulling the exhausted girl to her chest and placing a light kiss on her forehead.

The other pair of sisters took their cue to depart, but not before Ruby gave Weiss one last, sweet kiss.

As she was pulling the blankets up over her girlfriend and Blake, Yang sauntered to Blake's side. Leaning down, she kissed the sleeping girl's cheek.

Weiss looked up at her and smiled a little.

"You love her, don't you?"

"Was it that obvious?" Yang chuckled.

"Um, _yes?!_" Ruby groaned. "See, I _told_ you you should just-"

"It's not that simple, Ruby," Yang muttered. "I... I can't be sure if she-"

"_Yang_." Both Ruby and Weiss spoke her name then.

Then, Weiss continued alone. "I've known Blake my entire life. I've never seen her in love before. Not until now." Her mist-blue eyes sparkled with reassurance.

Yang shuffled her feet and sighed.

"Yeah, but-"

"Ugh, Yaaaang!" Ruby was exasperated. "You're _fine_!"

Yang's lavender eyes drifted down to her shuffling feet and she said nothing more.

"Well, either way," Weiss murmured. "Things will work out one way or another. Don't worry, Yang."

The oldest girl met her gaze briefly, gave the slightest nod, and turned away.

Ruby wished them well, declaring she and Yang would be going back to school after the weekend. Weiss wished them goodbye before she curled herself over Blake and closed her eyes at long last.

* * *

When Monday came, Ruby and Yang found themselves walking to school alone.

Ruby had received a text message from Weiss that stated she had almost fully recovered, but she and Blake would not be returning to school until the following day.

So for now, the two sisters walked together down the familiar sidewalk.

The atmosphere shifted drastically, however, once they neared the garden.

Yang watched as Ruby stopped walking, staring woefully into the bushes that were sporting tiny blossoms. But no familiar pair of eyes glowed back at her. She heaved a sigh and Yang rested a hand on her shoulder delicately.

"Ruby..."

"Ah. There you two are."

The sisters spun around in surprise as a somewhat familiar voice spoke.

The owner of the house they were in front of at present stood before them, her strawberry-blonde hair tied into a professional-looking bun as she dusted off her formal attire and pushed her glasses up onto her nose.

"Ms. Goodwitch!" Ruby exclaimed in greeting. "Good morning! We were just on our way to school-"

"I'm quite aware of that." Glynda smiled softly. But it soon faded when she saw the grief in their eyes. "I'm also quite aware of what happened here a few days ago. I was still at school at the time, but I was informed of what happened after I'd gotten back. By then you girls had all just been taken home. I'm sorry about what happened." She bowed her head respectfully in a moment of silence.

She had watched these girls grow up together as they passed her house every morning, watched them play with and care for that cat with more love and affection than she could describe. She knew the tragic accident had taken its toll on all of them, and even on Glynda herself in a way.

Presently, she placed one hand on Ruby and Yang's shoulders each, having them look up at her. "Where are the other two?"

Though Weiss and Blake did not attend Beacon like the three of them did, Glynda knew them just as well as if they were her students.

Yang sighed as she answered.

"They're still recovering. They won't be coming back until tomorrow."

Glynda's lips fell into a small frown.

"That's too bad. I've been waiting all weekend for the four of you to come by."

Ruby tilted her head curiously.

"Why's that?"

Glynda's smile soon returned.

"Because I've got something to show you."

* * *

**A/N: Surprise, surprise.**

**Ch 5 preview: **_**"Dammit, Weiss, I swear, if you-"**_

_**"I haven't told her anything," Weiss snapped. "That's for the two of you to figure out on your own. But Blake has been considering some things aloud at the dinner table over the past few weeks. She's not set her mind on anything yet that I know of, but..." She paused and seemed to change around what she had originally wanted to say, instead swapping it for something else. "Yang, let me just tell you; if you've got something to tell my sister, then you'd best see that you do so before graduation next month."**_

**Please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**There were many guesses as to what Glynda has to show them. See if you were correct~**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

* * *

Chapter 5.

_**If the stars all fall when there's no more light, and the moon should crumble it will be alright.**_

* * *

Ruby and Yang awoke early that morning, anticipation bubbling between them like an oncoming storm.

They got changed quickly, barely taking the time to pause and fix their hair or tie their shoe laces before they bolted out the door, the straps of their book bags jostling their shoulders as they ran. They still had an hour before school began, but there were two places they needed to stop by first and foremost.

The early-morning sunlight was brighter than it was at noon nowadays, signifying that summer was on its way.

_Summer_... Yang's thoughts started to trail off as she and Ruby raced down the familiar sidewalk. _Summer means graduation. College. Starting our new lives. And it's only two months away..._

She was still conflicted about many things – too many to recount right now as she continued to jog beside her sister. She had thought things over time and again only to come up empty-handed on most accounts, or ended up being more confused than when she had started out.

She pushed the troublesome thoughts to the back of her mind for the time being, though; right now, there was something she needed to focus on, something wonderful after the string of unfavorable events over the recent week.

As she followed Ruby, Yang's eyes briefly caught sight of those familiar cracks and twists all along the sidewalk, the spirals and shapes of her imaginary world from many, many seasons ago. She made sure to step over the cracks between the cement where the little flowers were blossoming, and despite her urgency, she waited the moment it took for Ruby to bend down, scoop up a caterpillar, and move it to the safety of a nearby garden.

When they finally reached their destination, Glynda was already outside waiting for them. She was dressed professionally for school, but she was not going to Beacon yet this morning. The two girls paused temporarily to catch their breaths and greet her, excited smiles curling their lips all the while.

"There's no rush," Glynda chuckled. "We still have plenty of time."

"Yeah, but-!" Yang shifted her weight from one foot to the other, eager to keep running. "Still, we'll be as quick as we can!" she called breathlessly. She turned again and grabbed Ruby's wrist, tugging her forward. "Come on! Did you text Weiss? They _are_ still going to school today, right? They didn't decide to stay home another day?"

"_No_, Yang!" Ruby groaned. "I told you, I double-checked with her like 8 grillion times already! Yes, they're both going to school today! And Weiss just messaged me back that they're waiting for us, so let's hurry!"

The brunette always had a hidden burst of speed under her belt for special occasions like these that called for cheetah-like sprints. Yang followed behind as they rounded the corners of the blocks until they had finally reached the familiar mansion.

Two girls stood at the end of the driveway, waiting for their company to come and collect them.

Blake was holding onto Weiss' hand, and the white-haired girl did not think she had let go of it at all since the day before when Blake had stumbled into her room with the other sisters. Her hand on Weiss' now was a reassurance for both of them, a promise that Blake would not leave her alone, as well as an anchor for Blake to steel herself. After all, she was going to have to pass by _that place_ again this morning, and this afternoon...

The silent pair snapped their heads up when an excited cry rang out through the still-waking neighborhood.

"Weeeiiiss! Blaaaaake!" Ruby called out, waving madly. She very nearly tackled her girlfriend into a hug, but stopped short – almost short enough to face-plant into the pavement – when she remembered the condition Weiss had been in until yesterday. She managed to stumble to a stop a few feet away from Weiss, panting.

Yang halted beside her, trying to seek Blake's gaze, wondering if she would let her. A spark of hope flared in her heart when Blake's golden eyes met with her own; it was only for a brief second before they went to Ruby, but it was long enough for Yang to keep the smile on her lips.

Weiss spoke next, a bit surprised by their vigor so early in the day.

"Good morning." She flashed a brief glance at her sister, silently telling Blake it was alright to let go of her hand for now. Blake released her grip as Weiss opened her arms to Ruby, who wrapped her in a gentle embrace. Weiss was still a bit weak, Ruby could tell, but she was definitely on the path to recovery, and that knowledge only served to fuel Ruby's eagerness even more.

Yang watched the delicate exchange, finding Blake doing the same. Again, the blonde was overwhelmed with the urge to pull her into her arms as well, but-

"What in the world's gotten into you two this morning?" Weiss wondered as Ruby pulled away from her. "Yesterday, you texted me after you left and told me that the two of us should be up an hour early this morning, then you send me that all-caps-lock text asking if we're still going to school today, and now-"

"No time to explain!" Ruby cut her off, pressing a quick kiss to her lips to stop her. "We've gotta show you! Come on, come on!" She grasped one of Blake's and Weiss' hands in each of her own, preparing to rush them down to their destination. But before she could do so, Yang blocked her path.

"Easy there, sis. I don't think these two are up for running just yet," she reminded Ruby. "Plus, we've still got plenty of time. Let's take it slow, okay?"

"Slow... slow... right, right, got'cha." Ruby took a deep breath and made sure to control her pace as she led the curious pair along. Yang stuck close to Blake's side, trying to keep the smile off of her face.

But as they drew nearer and nearer to the garden, she saw the onyx-haired girl's frown appear and deepen. When Glynda's house was in sight, Blake stopped walking altogether.

"I think I want to... walk on the other side..." she decided.

Without waiting, she made for the edge of the street, stopping abruptly before stepping onto the pavement. Terrifying scenes replayed in her mind at that second - rain, a car, a small trail of blood...

"Blake, wait!" Yang reached out and caught her wrist, causing the girl to jump. The blonde girl winced, hoping she had not triggered one of the painful memories herself just now by touching her hand. "What you need to see is over here," she urged in a soft voice.

Blake looked at her with scared eyes, ones that were already threatening water.

"Yang, I don't-"

"Blake, _please_. You've gotta trust me, okay? I... I think this might be able to help a little. I'm not saying you have to get over what happened right away. I know you can't – none of us can. But just... _please_, Blake." She was begging now, lavender eyes flickering with an earnest plea.

Blake flashed her gaze to her sister, and Weiss gave a small nod. Ruby, too, offered a supportive smile.

At last, Blake met Yang's eyes fully.

"Alright..." she murmured.

"Thanks for trusting me, Blake." Yang's smile reappeared, and something surfaced in her gaze fleetingly, yet Blake could not quite place it before the blonde turned away. She felt her hand being pulled back toward the rock wall of Glynda's garden, and the four of them advanced together.

The teacher herself stood at the door to her house, waiting for them. Once she spotted them, she offered pleasant greetings just as a formality.

"Now then," she pushed her glasses farther up onto the bridge of her nose. "I've got two things to show you girls. If you'd kindly follow me."

She headed toward her garden that was still recovering from the flood a few days ago; the flowers were still a bit wilted, but they would survive.

The four students followed her, Ruby at the lead with Weiss not far behind. Blake stuck close to her sister, and Yang brought up the rear, keeping her palm lightly over Blake's back.

There was a small rock path through the garden, and the enclosure itself was actually much larger than it seemed from their usual viewing spots from the sidewalk; in all those years, the girls had never seen it in its entirety.

Glynda led them along the path until they reached the corner of the garden that was closest to the sidewalk below.

A small memorial had been set up, a wooden cross decorated with flowers and cattails. The name "Shroud" had been written across the horizontal plank as Ruby and Yang had requested.

Yang felt Blake recoil, but she did not try to turn or run away. She simply stared.

Yang rubbed her back as she started to cry, and Weiss teared up as well.

Glynda was melancholy as she spoke then:

"I've watched you four come over to play with that cat for so many years. It felt wrong not to bury her here. I would have taken her in myself, if I could have. But my dogs are very bad with cats. At least out here she was able to live happily and see you girls every day."

The group waited there a few moments, circled around the little grave site, consoling one another. Blake managed a choked "Thank you" to Glynda to offer her gratitude for burying her cat.

When Blake's tears had finally stopped, they quietly took her to the next location. _This_ was what Yang had been so anxious to show her all morning.

They followed Glynda around to her back yard and onto the porch. A shoe box with a blanket covering the top sat in one corner. A small sound reached their ears.

"Oh...!" Weiss brought a hand to her mouth in an effort to conceal her emotions. Ruby smiled widely and hugged her, ecstatic.

Blake was the last to realize what this meant.

"Y-Yang?"

The blonde was flattered that Blake would look to her for an explanation. But she merely took Blake's hand and crouched down beside her as Glynda lifted the blanket.

A tiny bundle of black fur squirmed about on a bed of soft fabric scraps, mewling pitifully. It was at the second the kitten was revealed that Yang felt a stroke of fear pass through her heart. She had assumed Blake would be happy about this, but it might only serve to resurface painful memories for her.

Worried now, Yang glanced at her in concern.

"Blake...?"

The dark-haired girl was still staring down into the box, eyes wide and brimming with tears. Slowly, she lifted her face, expression unreadable as she looked at Yang.

"Yang... is... is this...?"

Yang smiled softly.

"Yeah," she nodded. "Just a few days before she died... Shroud gave birth to this lil' guy."

When her thoughts were confirmed, Blake let out a sob and buried her face in her hands.

"Oh my gosh..." She hunched forward, a few stray tears slipping into the box. Yang sniffed as a few drops slid down her own cheeks, and she pulled Blake into her arms.

Glynda explained things clearly to them:

"It was a few days before the rain storm; I'd heard more meowing that night than I usually did. After the accident, when I was burying the mother's body, I heard crying from the bush she liked to hide in. When I went to investigate, I found this little one."

As they listened to her story, the four girls managed to wipe their tears away, sadness now replaced with joy. Blake's golden eyes were alive again with a new light. Yang was thankful she could accept the kitten after the tragedy of Shroud's death. The new life before her now was like a blessing for Blake, a reminder that life continued in a perpetual cycle; when one ended, another began.

Blake watched as the tiny black kitten stumbled about, parting its jaws in another mew. Then, it opened its eyes, slowly but surely. Its amber gaze met hers, and Blake felt her heart swell with joy and hope and love.

"Ember..." she breathed.

"What was that?" Yang asked.

"Ember. I don't know. That's just what came to me. That's what I want to call her. She's... the embers Shroud left behind, kindling a new fire, a new life..."

Yang patted her friend's shoulder.

"I think it's a great name, Blake."

By this time, Ruby and Weiss were still cooing from where they stood over their sisters, chuckling lightly to one another.

Glynda cleared her throat and spoke again:

"Now then. I'm assuming none of you girls can keep this little one at home, otherwise you would have taken in her mother. Am I correct?"

The four of them looked up at her and all heads nodded.

"I see," the teacher sighed. "And my dogs won't allow me to keep her either. The best I can do for now is hide her in my kitchen and confine the dogs to certain parts of the house. Unless you girls would rather give her up to the pet shop-"

"No!" Blake said immediately. She quickly lowered her tone in apology, but spoke her next words with conviction. "I... I want to take her."

"Blake?" Weiss' eyes widened. "But you-"

"I know," she said, but the way she cut Weiss off made it sound like she had something she was hiding, something she did not want to reveal right now. Yang did not know what to make of it, but something twisted in her gut.

Blake stood then, and motioned for Glynda to speak with her privately. Yang watched them go before she got to her feet and looked to Weiss.

"What's going on?" she asked, eyes hard.

But the white-haired girl shook her head.

"I don't think she wants you to know yet."

"Well then, when the hell _will_ I know?" Yang growled, stomping her foot.

"Yang!" Ruby warned. Her stomp had shaken the porch a bit, causing the kitten's box to jiggle.

"Sorry," Yang sighed. "But why doesn't Blake tell me anything? Why can't she-"

"Yang, listen." Weiss raised her hands for peace. "I know you have feelings for her-"

"Dammit Weiss, I swear if you-"

"I haven't told her anything," Weiss snapped. "That's for the two of you to figure out on your own. But Blake has been considering some things aloud at the dinner table over the past few weeks. She hasn't set her mind on anything yet that I know of, but..."

She paused and seemed to change around what she had originally wanted to say, instead swapping it for something else. "Yang, let me just tell you; if you've got something to tell my sister, then you'd best see that you do so before graduation next month."

Those words pacified Yang as a wave of understanding washed over her.

This was it. What might possibly be her final chance, and it was winding down every day.

Since when had so much time passed? Since when had they all grown up and been making plans for life after high school?

Yang hated this.

She hated not knowing what was going on with Blake.

She hated not knowing her own feelings or how to express them.

She hated how Blake did not look her in the eye when she returned.

She hated how Blake did not tell her anything of what she had discussed with Glynda as they walked to school.

She hated how Blake did not hug her goodbye before they departed that afternoon.

She was beginning to hate herself, too.

* * *

Through Ruby, who had discussed things with Weiss, Yang found out that Glynda would be keeping Ember until after graduation.

With some help Blake had found at the local pet store, they had the necessary supplies to take care of the kitten until then, and Glynda planned to keep her locked away in a room her dogs had no access to.

Even a few weeks later, Yang did not know what Blake was planning to do – about the kitten, about graduation, about _her – _about anything.

The blonde lived in a constant state of uncertainty from then on, even more so than she had been for the last few months whenever she was around her friend. She had thought that after the accident, she and Blake had grown a little closer. After all, the girl had not pushed her away or rejected her hugs or words of comfort.

Yang had to wonder if Blake was even aware that she had kissed her several times and was ignoring the fact, or if she had no knowledge of that at all.

In the following weeks, the girls went about their routines as things started to fall back into place.

Or so it seemed.

Weiss had recovered fully, giving Ruby excuses to pick her up and twirl her around and be consequently silenced by a scolding kiss as many times as she wished.

Yang could not be happier for her little sister; Weiss would be going to college locally, so Ruby could visit her often even as she continued to attend high school. She was not going to be left behind like she had feared so long ago.

As for Yang...

She still had no idea what she or Blake was going to do.

* * *

It was the first day of their final month of school when Yang came to a decision.

She went to her parents that evening, calling Ruby in with them and talked to them seriously about a lot of things. She talked about school, about finding a job, about Blake...

As she started saying the ideas aloud, she realized some sounded more appealing than others; in her mind, anything seemed possible, but when put into reality's terms, her parents managed to disillusion her on many topics.

Ruby listened quietly, solemnly, always looking like she wanted to say something but never doing so.

Every night that week, Yang held conferences with them in the living room, and she soon realized they had more or less come to a decision.

"So..." Ruby presently clarified things as she looked around the room at the faces of her mother, her father, then her sister. "We're gonna be moving to the other side of town... but Yang's staying here?"

Her mother smiled at her, eyes shining. "That's right. Your father and I have been saving up, and your sister's collected a lot from her odd jobs as well."

"But isn't there a bunch of legal stuff?" Ruby asked.

"We can take care of all that," her mother reassured. "It'll be more like she's renting this place, at least until she can make enough money to support it on her own." She cast her kind gaze toward her eldest daughter. "But until then, your father and I will be helping."

"And... where we're moving..." Ruby went on. "It's-"

Yang answered for her this time. "It's only five minutes by car. Whiiich I have." She just never used it much because she would rather walk to school with the rest of them. "And you'll be getting yours after graduation. So you can swing by any time and come see me!" she reminded her sister.

"Oh, wow..." Ruby mumbled. "So we're... we're going to do this? For real?" She was starting to bounce in her seat on the couch. But then, she flashed her gaze over to Yang in a bit of a panic. "B-But are you gonna be okay all by yourself? I mean you'll be lonely! And what about Bla-" She stopped herself, but it was already a bit too late.

Yang's expression turned crestfallen, and a bitter smile appeared on her face. She looked down at the floor. "That's... still a bit complicated..."

A troubled pause filled the air, and for a moment, no one spoke.

Then, Yang lifted her head triumphantly. "But remember what Weiss said about if I had to say something to Blake, then I should say it before graduation?"

The trademark smirk returned to her face, and Ruby's smile returned as well.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Are you gonna ask her to _marry_ you?!"

Yang nearly fell out of her seat, and their parents sputtered.

"_God_, Ruby!" Yang cried. "No, _geez_, I'm not gonna do that the day after high school, _god!_" She let out a sigh to calm herself down again. "But I do plan on asking her to... maybe live with me here..." She looked hopefully up at her parents for approval of the thought. "I mean, if we both got jobs and could afford to, then... I feel we could kinda be like roommates!"

Her parents exchanged a look; they knew how their daughter felt, and they had known the Schnee family and their daughters long enough.

It was her father who spoke next.

"So long as her family agrees, I think that would be a wonderful idea."

At that moment, Yang's nervous lips broke out into an enormous grin. She jumped up from her seat and ran to the couch where her mother and father were seated, throwing her arms around them. "Thank you! Thank you _so much!_" she cried, tears streaming into the fabrics of her shirt.

Ruby started to cry too, naturally, and she hugged Yang and their parents as best she could.

* * *

The very next day, the preparations were put in order for the move.

Ruby started to pack her things up, complaining all the while that she would miss Yang, and her sister had to continuously remind her that she could come by to visit any time.

"Plus, I'll be working around town, so you can always come find me anywhere! But I don't think you'll be spending too much time with little ol' me after the move." She gave a suggestive smile. "I mean, after all, you guys _are_ moving closer to the Schnee mansion," she sang.

"Y... Yeah!" Ruby squeaked. "B-But I'll still come to visit you all the time! I'll bring Weiss, too! I mean, if Blake's gonna be living here, I'm sure we'll be stopping by a lot!"

"Don't count your chickens before they hatch, lil sis," Yang stopped her. "Blake hasn't said yes yet. Heck, I haven't even _asked_ her yet."

Ruby leaned in and nudged her ribs. "Yeah, but remember what Weiss said? She totally likes you back."

Yang heaved a sigh and playfully locked her arm around Ruby's neck, ruffling her hair affectionately.

"I sure as hell hope so."

* * *

The final two weeks of school went by far too quickly.

The four girls would leave earlier than usual and stop by Glynda's house to visit Ember for a few moments each day. Ruby and Yang had opted to stay silent about things until after graduation.

Likewise, Blake and Weiss did not say much about their future plans in addition to what they had told them in the past.

The atmospheres surrounding them never changed, but it was a false comfort now, something almost forced and tentative, as though they were treading on thin ice.

There was an impending storm, but they all refused to acknowledge it.

Until the very last second.

* * *

The day of graduation was as any would imagine.

It was a moving experience, reminiscent of the time the senior class had shared with the rest of them, their accomplishments and achievements, and the wishes for their bright futures.

Yang could spot Ruby in the audience, crying all the while. Their parents sat close by, proud and wistful.

The final speech was given.

The cheers erupted.

The caps were tossed high into the air.

The same ceremony had been held at Weiss and Blake's school a few blocks away, and crowds of students from either school met up afterward on school grounds or anywhere in between.

Ruby rushed over to Weiss the second she saw her to hug her, and Weiss proudly held her diploma in her grasp.

The second Ruby let her girlfriend go, Yang rushed over to Blake and Weiss, throwing her inhibitions to the wind as she hugged them both. She relinquished her hold on Weiss when Ruby whined for her back, and the blonde opted to keep Blake for herself.

Now was as good a time as any. Her best and last chance.

Blake was smiling a little from the thrill that came after the exhilaration of the event. She had even hugged Yang in return.

Now, the blonde placed her hands on Blake's shoulders, lavender eyes sparkling. "Blake..." she said earnestly.

The dark-haired girl sensed the mood shift, and her eyes widened. Yang was not sure if she saw nervousness or anticipation in those golden eyes at that moment, but she could not stop to think about it.

"Blake. I've... got something I wanna tell you."

Blake's smile fell until her expression was unreadable, waiting.

"What is it?"

Her voice was level, but there was an edge to it. Yang could not tell what it was in her tone – eagerness, regret, joy...

Yang steeled herself. "I... I-"

She stopped herself, something changing within her at the last second, holding back her confession that was three years overdue.

"I want you... to come live with me."

There would be more time to confess later, when they were together.

Because they would be together from then on.

"Yang..."

Blake looked up at her touched, then disbelieving, and-

-regretful.

She apologized.

"I'm sorry."

Yang did not comprehend her words, nor the meaning behind them at that moment. Her heart had been set on this for so long; she had convinced herself there was no other possible reality she would be living other than the one she had planned out in her mind.

But her reality was promptly shattered by the vacancy in Blake's eyes.

"I'm sorry," she said again. "Yang, I'm... I'm leaving."

Yang took a step back. Her chest hurt.

"What... what do you mean?_ Where?_"

Blake let out a long sigh, one that told Yang all of her mistakes.

She had waited too long, after all.

"I'm moving... across the country."

There was something in her eyes now, a terrible remorse, sharp and flustered, suffocating the emotions behind it; the love that had never gotten the opportunity to blossom.

She bowed her head and cried.

Yang threw her arms around Blake and wailed, the cheerful atmosphere around them forgotten. "Blake... Blake no... please... _please_ don't-" She sobbed, refusing to let her go. "You're joking, right? Oh... g-god you're serious. I'm sorry. I'm so, s-so sorry... I-I... Blake, I lo-"

But even then, she never brought herself to say it.

* * *

**A/N: I apologize for the pacing inconsistencies, but they'll be in the final chapters as well. The breaks are simply the best way to cover passages of time.**

**I received a lot of guesses for kittens, but all named Gambol, it seems. Ember was my decision from the start, however. **

**Ch 6 preview: _Yang knew she loved Blake, and she always had and probably always would. But if announcing those feelings would hold her companion back in any way, she would swallow them entirely. She could be the _friend_ and nothing else if she had to. And for Blake, she was more than willing._**

**Please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**As always, I'm so very thankful for the immense support on this story!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

* * *

Chapter 6.

_**Like the smell of a rose on a summer's day, I will be there to take all your fears away.**_

* * *

Blake was moving across the country.

Her adoptive family's riches, partnered with the fact that Weiss would be attending school locally, and therefore on a cheaper tuition, allowed for the older girl to have more money to spend and travel.

Ruby knew Weiss was only doing this for her sister's wellbeing, but still she had to wonder if it was what Weiss really wanted to do. At one point, she even voiced the question, wondering if Weiss would really be happy if things were to go as she planned them.

The response had been immediate, almost suspiciously so.

"Of course this is what I want. It's always been my dream to succeed the business. I've grown up around jewelry all my life and know everything there is to know about running a chain of stores. Additionally, the school I'll be going to will provide me with even more information, more opportunities to get to do what I love."

She had smiled, though Ruby still looked doubtful. "And," Weiss had continued with a brief kiss to the younger girl's cheek. "I'll be able to stay with you and support you as well. Truthfully, this is the best option for everyone."

Had she never met Ruby and fallen in love with her, Weiss might have been a bit less eager to go to college where she planned to now - though she would never show it, for fear of making Blake feel guilty. But considering things had worked out the way they had, Weiss truly believed this was the best option, and the one she would follow through in with all her heart.

Once Ruby was certain of her girlfriend's decision, she allowed herself to smile as well. She could always smile easily for Weiss after that.

But not always for her sister.

The school Blake chose to go to was for business, an almost direct contrast to what she had originally wanted to do in writing books. When asked why, her response was simple:

"This school is very prestigious and I've won a scholarship. My family's efforts have allowed me to make it this far, so it would be an insult to them not to go."

Yang could not help but think she saw regret in Blake's eyes as she had said this to them. She wanted to ask _one more time_ if Blake would stay with her instead, if she would work together with her until they could begin to make a living and then figure out what they wanted to do afterward.

But she could not.

Yang merely bit her lip and nodded her understanding.

She wanted to believe she saw a longing in Blake's eyes, a wish for Yang to stop her from going, but the blonde knew it was only a delusion she had imposed in those golden eyes herself.

And Blake was not leaving at the end of the summer when her first semester would begin; she was leaving in two weeks' time. She was going to fly out across the country and get accustomed to the area before staying in a special dorm for long-distance students on scholarships.

Two weeks.

Yang only had_ two weeks_ to say goodbye to her, to confess or say whatever it was she wanted to say that was already long overdue.

...

And then she had one week.

...

And then she had four days.

...

* * *

And now she had two.

She cursed herself every night for her cowardice. _Why_ was it so hard to say? Ruby had shouted it to Weiss for the entire town to hear, so why was it that Yang could not confess her feelings to Blake alone on the park bench where they were sitting now?

Blake had called her out here, looking guilty again, an expression she only wore around Yang now, and perhaps the _only_ one she wore around her. It seemed Blake was giving Yang every feasible chance to speak her mind, to say what they both might have known she wanted to say.

Blake even waited patiently for her now, but all Yang did was sigh.

"So..." She looked down at the ground. Not at Blake. She never seemed to look at Blake anymore. "Why did you call me and ask me to... come meet you here?" Conflicting emotions battled within Yang's chest; the part of her that did not want to confess to Blake wanted Blake to confess.

And yet another part knew she did not feel that way about Yang. Despite what Weiss had said, what Ruby had told her, Yang simply could find no evidence that Blake harbored reciprocating emotions for her.

So she waited for her friend to explain what she wanted.

Blake let the silence flow a moment longer, realizing Yang had nothing to say. Sighing, she spoke up at last.

"I need to ask you a favor."

She must have sounded so greedy, so ungrateful. She wanted to believe she knew how Yang felt about her, but never could be sure of her own feelings. She knew she must have put her friend through a lot of turmoil, perhaps even made her cry a few times as she lie alone in her room at night.

And here Blake was asking her for a favor.

There was a part of her that wanted Yang to refuse her with stinging words, to snap at her and make her wince and chase her away for good.

But of course, Yang did not do that. She could never do such a thing to Blake.

Rather, she put on a smile, one that was so kind Blake might have believed it was genuine if it had reached her eyes. Her voice was weary, tired from sleepless nights alone and thinking, but her tone was still eager to help, to do whatever she could for Blake.

"Sure. Anything you need. Just ask."

Yang knew she loved Blake, and she always had and probably always would. But if announcing those feelings would hold her companion back in any way, she would swallow them entirely. She could be the _friend_ and nothing else if she had to. And for Blake, she was more than willing.

The onyx-haired girl blinked up at her, but Yang shifted her gaze ever so slightly, instead focusing on the girl's shoulder.

On a quiet voice, Blake began to explain: "The dorm where I'm going to be moving... doesn't allow pets. Plus, it's so far away, I think the move would be too stressful for Ember, not to mention the risks of being lost on the plane..." She could not bear to think of such things, and shivered slightly before her eyes met Yang's in resolve. "I... I can't let her be taken to the shelter, and Ms. Goodwitch can't keep her for much longer, and I know neither of our families could take her in, but-"

"Blake!" Yang put her hands up to calm her down. "Of course I'll take her in with me."

Golden eyes widened hopefully. "You will?"

"Didn't I just say that?" Yang's lips curled into a soft smile, but it held an ounce of bitterness to it. "Besides, I'll be lonely. I'll need someone to keep me company..."

A pang sunk into Blake's heart and she could no longer meet her friend's gaze.

"Thank you, Yang. It means a lot to me. It really does."

Yang wanted to wrap an arm around her, just because she really needed to feel Blake's warmth. But she was too scared Blake would reject her again, and Yang was not sure if she could handle that.

Instead, without thinking it through entirely, Yang replied:

"I'd do anything for you."

All she managed was a light brushing of her fingers against Blake's, but she felt that was enough. She felt melancholy with the decision they had just made, and was about to let another smile pass her lips-

-until Blake started to cry.

Her hand left the proximity of Yang's as it was lifted to her face instead, wiping tears. Yang was taken aback, again nearly bursting with the overwhelming urge to embrace her, amazed that she could still manage to hold herself back.

"H-Hey now, what's all this about?" she murmured. Could she at least touch her shoulder? Her hand? Yang could not be sure, so she avoided both as Blake's hiccups continued.

"It's just... what you said... how you're going to be alone..."

Yang's eyes widened. She felt something stir within her then, but whatever it was, she did not like it.

Again, she spoke without thinking.

"Well, you're gonna be alone too, aren't you? You won't have a roommate with this program since you're a special student. I guess we can be alone together, huh? I mean since you obviously don't want to stay here and live with me."

Blake sucked a sharp breath in through her teeth, her eyes prominent with a mix of rage and pain.

"How could you say that?" she demanded. "What gives you the right to decide how I feel?"

"Oh, come _on_, Blake. We all know how you feel, so why don't you just _say_ it?" Unbeknownst to Yang, her own tears had already started to fall as she bit into her lip.

Blake was silent for a moment.

"What... what do you mean?"

"You know..." Yang growled. "Just say it. Say that you hate me. That you want nothing to do with me ever again."

"Yang..." Blake's voice withered, crumpled as her heart started to pound harder. "Why would you think-"

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Yang was borderline shouting now, her eyes distraught as tears streamed down her face. "You hate me Blake, so just say it. _Say it!_ I need to hear it from you, or else... or else I'll never be able to move on with my life!" she cried.

"Y-Yang..." Her voice was broken now. "Yang, I-"

"Goddamn it, Blake! Just say it to my face!" Yang screamed in desperation.

"_Yang!_" Blake finally shouted as loudly as she could. "Shut up, just _shut up_ for five seconds, god! I don't know what the hell's going on, I don't know what you ever thought about me or felt about me, but it's _too late_ for that now, okay?" By now, her shoulders were shuddering again, and the anger was absent from all of her features. Now, she was only helpless. "It's too late, Yang..."

When she repeated those words again, it finally seemed to hit home, after all this time.

Yang... was too late. She had missed her chance, missed having the love of her life and her best friend. And all because she was too indecisive, too insecure. She was such a damn _coward_.

She stared at Blake with wide, horrified eyes, finally disillusioned.

Blake glared back at her weakly, lips quivering as her voice continued to spill out:

"And what gives you the right, Yang? What gives you the right to tell me how I feel about you? It's not like I _want_ to leave-" When she had finally realized what she was saying, Blake slammed a palm over her mouth.

But Yang had heard those words as clearly as she had felt the pain in her chest.

"Wait, _what?_" She blinked her eyes to dislodge the tears, narrowing her gaze. But Blake slid away from her on the bench and got to her feet.

"Nothing, Yang."

"No, Blake, what did you-"

"I said it was nothing!" she shouted. Yang had reached out to her, grasped her sleeve, and so Blake did the only thing she could think of. She yanked herself away, forced to watch something die in Yang's eyes as she did so. "_Nothing,_" she said again. "Yang, forget I said anything. Just _forget_ it."

But it was clear what her words were really saying:

Forget _me_.

Blake turned her back and ran off clumsily, and Yang was forced to watch her go. Her body felt too heavy to move, even as it screamed to chase after her.

But Yang stayed where she was, crying and trembling instead of doing what she should have been doing, instead of going after Blake.

She clenched a fist and slammed it into the back of the bench just to feel the external pain, to feel something other than what was eating her away inside.

* * *

All that night as she lie in bed, Yang could not stop thinking about Blake's words for a second.

_"It's too late." _

_Yeah, I know,_ Yang thought, nails digging into the sheets. The damp spot on her pillow expanded even further. _I know it's too late. I'm always too late. I always miss you or neglect to say or do something and then it's too late_.

Even though she had saved Blake's life twice, she could not stop blaming herself for not chasing after her that afternoon. She had not even called, or sent an apology text message.

She wondered if Blake was doing the same things as she was right now. When she thought of Blake sobbing alone in her bedroom with her parents and sister blissfully unaware, Yang cried harder. All she wanted to do was hold Blake in her arms, beg her not to go, tell her how she felt...

The thought resurfaced another thing Blake had said to her.

_"It's not like I want to leave."_

When she had first heard her say that, Yang had sounded confuse, but the truth was, she understood all too well. Blake was only eighteen, and yet she was moving across the country to go to school and live alone in a one-person dorm room. There was only so much solace phone calls and text messages and emails could do for a person in such a situation.

Blake had never _wanted_ to go, but she could not speak up about it now. Her parents had gone through so much trouble over the years to set this up for her, assuming it was what Blake wanted, what was best for her and made sense financially. They thought she would enjoy this.

And Weiss...

Weiss had sacrificed her chances for a better education and quite possibly altered her life goals and dreams by going to a local college, all so Blake could have the funds to travel and do what she wanted to.

Blake was scared out of her wits, but she could never say that to her family, not after they had done so much for her. Until now, Blake had thought this was what she wanted, too.

Yang could not help but feel that the speech Blake had given her had been partially directed at herself as well as Yang.

_"It's too late... Just forget it."_

If Blake had had any intentions to talk things over with her family, to confess her fears and request a change in plans, she had shattered those feelings then and there that afternoon.

And at the same time, she had made it clear to Yang how she felt about her.

Yang had needed to hear a rejection, so she could forget Blake and move on with her life.

But even after having Blake turn her back on her, she was all Yang was thinking about even now.

Perhaps when she moved away, it would be easier to forget her like Blake wanted her to. They could simply drift apart; it was not that hard to do, in fact it seemed quite simple.

But Blake would be scared and alone wherever it was she was going, and Yang hated that thought more than anything.

The truth was both of them were scared, and neither of them knew what she herself wanted, what the other wanted. Or perhaps they _did_ know it somewhere deep within the chasms of their hearts. But they were both too hesitant to delve in and find it, too terrified of what they might discover instead.

So that night, they curled up alone in their beds and cried.

* * *

On the day of Blake's flight – her last day – Ruby and Yang went to the Schnee residence early in the morning.

Moving trucks and boxes were arranged all about the place, and the house seemed much lonelier as they waited at the front door.

Weiss already looked to be on the verge of tears, and when Ruby saw her expression, she nearly burst out herself.

But Blake's expression was... calm, enough to draw suspicion from Yang.

Blake never met her eyes that morning. She was terrified, and Yang knew it. But again, she did nothing about it.

The four of them walked their path for the final time, down that familiar sidewalk where the patterns from above formed a mirage of scenes in the imagination, where they knew every crack and every flower that popped up from within them, where their strides had them stepping in the exact same spots every time, so much so they assumed their individual trails of footprints would be imprinted there for years to come.

They followed the path in melancholy silence until it led them to the garden.

Weiss and Ruby went to the door and knocked while Blake went into the garden. Yang left a long distance between them as she followed, standing at bay when Blake crouched down before Shroud's grave.

Blake had dressed in formal attire that day for her journey, but she did not hesitate a second to kneel in the dirt for this reason. Her hands clasped together in silent prayers, and Yang could only wonder what was going through her mind then; the memories of the first time she had met Shroud as a kitten almost ten years ago, all the times they had brought her food and played with her, the little birthday celebrations they held for her every year...

Yang remembered that if not for this cat, she and Ruby may never have met Blake and Weiss.

She let Blake have her space, but from where she was, Yang got to her knees and sent out her prayers as well. She soon noticed the tears cascading from Blake's chin that seeped into the soil, and Yang felt she should not be watching.

And yet, she felt the need to go to her again, to embrace her...

At last, Blake stood shakily, and Yang mirrored her actions.

Now.

She needed to give it to her now.

Before Blake could pass her and head into the house, Yang held up her arm to block her path. Blake's weary eyes looked up at her with faint curiosity, something that had long-since been vacant from her eyes.

Yang reached into the pocket of her shorts and pulled out a small photograph.

Blake and Weiss were thirteen at the time and Ruby eleven. All three of them were laughing in the picture, smiling as they crouched around a young and healthy cat.

Yang gave the photo one last fond look before she handed it to Blake.

"I'd just gotten my cell phone at the time, and I really wanted to try it out. Funny. The first picture I took turned out being the best, and everything after that was awful," she chuckled. "I... thought you might like this one, so I arranged to have it developed at the store."

Blake bit back another wave of emotions.

It was a joyful photograph, lively and youthful and full of fond memories and scenery, but-

-but Yang was not in it.

Blake knew it was because she had been the one taking the picture, but it felt... almost ominous in a way.

_"Forget me."_ It seemed to say.

Perhaps that was a wish they could both agree upon.

Blake held the photograph close to her for a moment before sliding it into her skirt pocket.

"Thank you..." she murmured. It was nothing close enough to what she wanted to say, what gratitude she truly wanted to convey, but it was all she could bring herself to utter.

Yang followed her around the yard to Glynda's back porch. Ruby and Weiss were already waiting there, and the teacher had gone to fetch Ember. Blake and Yang greeted Glynda when she appeared with a black bundle in her hands.

Then, all four girls sat down in a circle on the ground. Glynda lowered herself and let Ember down onto her paws.

"It's only been a few weeks, but she's grown so much already. She's so fast too, so watch her!"

The kitten's amber eyes were wide now that she could open them, and she scurried about between the girls' hands in excitement, wiggling her haunches, whiskers twitching and tail flicking before pouncing lightly on fingers.

Glynda watched them in amusement; they had not changed one bit, in her book over the years.

Ruby rubbed the kitten's belly as Ember kicked playfully at her hand. Weiss scratched beneath her chin, eliciting a purr. She butted her little head against Yang's knee, demanding a back-scratch. And finally, she crawled into Blake's lap and curled up for a nap.

Glynda spoke softly now. "She inherited all the best traits from her mother. All that playfulness you four learned into her, all the affection and trust and love. She'll grow up to be a fine cat and a loyal companion."

"Yes..." Blake whispered as she stroked a hand down Ember's back. "I know she will."

Weiss spoke up beside her.

"Thank you so much for all of this, Ms. Goodwitch."

"Please, dear. Glynda," she smiled. "And it's been my pleasure, believe me. I would keep her if I could. But I know she'll be much better off with you girls. What have you decided?" she wondered.

Yang took her cue, making it a point to avoid Blake's gaze as she spoke.

"I'll be taking her in. Ruby and my parents are moving across town and I'll be living alone, so I can keep her without anyone having to worry about allergies. And of course, anyone can visit any time they want!" she grinned.

"That's wonderful to hear." Glynda maintained her smile until her eyes came to rest on Blake. The plans the girl had discussed with her weeks ago had fallen through, it seemed. But Glynda was glad things could work out in another way that would allow one of the girls to keep the kitten. She knew Blake was leaving and could assume pets were not allowed, so Yang had stepped up and offered to house the kitten instead. "I'm sure Miss Yang here will keep you updated with photos and videos of this little one, right?"

"Yeah, of course!" Yang said.

Blake sought out her eyes, but Yang refused to turn her face.

They stayed that way for a short while, until Ruby glanced at her wrist watch. She nudged Weiss who stiffened at the cue before she murmured something to Blake.

It was time to go.

Blake bent down and placed a long kiss in between Ember's soft ears, running her fingers through her smooth fur one last time.

Then, she lifted the kitten into her arms and stood before returning Ember to Glynda. She winced when the little animal left her arms, and she ended up clutching the ends of her skirt to fill the void.

The rest of them got to their feet as Glynda went back inside to put Ember into her room. When she reappeared, she opened her arms to Blake, and the girl went to her eagerly. Their relationship was not even one of student and teacher, but for some reason, Glynda felt she had taught Blake and Weiss in her classes at Beacon just as often as she had taught Ruby and Yang.

After seeing them pass by her house together every morning for ten years, she had formed some kind of bond with them along the way.

Presently, she felt Blake tense in her arms; the girl was scared, and she knew that, but she also knew Blake would do great things. "You take care, dear. And if you need something, don't ever hesitate to ask the administration. We teachers can help you out if you need it." When she let the girl go, she added softly. "And of course your friends and family will always be here for you, even if there's some distance in between."

If felt strange for Blake to hear those words aloud, but it was something that should have been so obvious that it needed to be said more often.

"Thank you," she said softly. "Thank you for everything. I'll come visit whenever I can."

She said her final goodbyes to Glynda, holding back the tears until the four of them had left her garden. Blake offered one last prayer at Shroud's grave before Weiss helped her up, supporting her sister as they began to walk back toward their house.

As they went, Yang realized this really was it – the last time the four of them would be walking this path together for what could be a very, very long time. It might even be the last time ever.

Ruby refused to go to Blake's other side, though she obviously wanted to help comfort her, too. But instead, she bumped her hip into Yang's, sending a glare her way, and Yang understood what her eyes were saying:

_"This is your _last_ chance!" _

Yang sighed and obeyed her little sister, moving closer to Blake, just enough for their shoulders to brush. But she never advanced any further than that.

The sidewalk disappeared behind them, and at last the four girls reached the Schnee residence. It felt like something in their memories vanished at that moment, parts of them that had faded that they could never hope to remember, never get back...

Weiss' and Blake's parents were waiting for their daughters in the front yard, the car already running.

Reality hit Yang in the stomach then.

This was it.

Her parents and sister would get to take her to the airport and say their goodbyes, but for Ruby and herself, this was the scene of their departure.

They stood in the grass, none of them entirely sure what to do.

But at last, Ruby ran forward and threw herself into Blake's arms, wailing loudly. "G-Goodbye, Blake! I'm-I'm gonna miss you s-_so_ much I'm..." She sobbed relentlessly into the older girl's shoulder. "I'm gonna miss you, I... god, you're like a sister to me, Blake! You're my best friend! I love you so so so much-! A-And I know you're gonna do great, you're gonna be _so_ great..." She cried and cried, heartbroken, and refused to let Blake go.

The dark-haired girl hugged her back for all she was worth and then some.

"Thank you, Ruby. You... you don't know what it means to me..." Her voice broke almost instantly, shattering helplessly, much like her resolve. "I'm gonna miss you, too. So, so much. I'll come visit as soon as I can, okay? Take care of Weiss for me. Take... take care of Ember..." Her voice grew softer as she murmured her last request. "Take care of that idiot sister of yours."

Ruby finally pulled back, and past the trails of tears and other things down her face, she was smiling.

"You got it!"

Blake reached out and brushed her bangs aside, kissing her cheek affectionately. Ruby returned the gesture before she let Blake go.

Weiss would have to say her farewells at the airport, but she was already crying now, having broken even before Ruby had. Blake went to her and hugged her tightly.

"Weiss, don't worry about me. I'll be fine." She could not bear the thought of Weiss being so worried she suffered another panic attack. The thought struck fear deep into Blake's heart, and she found it harder to let go of Weiss.

But her sister was the one to calm Blake down this time.

"I know you will be," she smiled. "And I'll be fine, too. You don't have to worry about me. Just make sure you call as often as you can. Never hesitate to tell me about anything. If there's something – _anything_ – you need, you let me know, and I'll get it to you. Somehow."

"Thank you, Weiss," Blake whispered. "You... you and Mom and Dad have always been my true family. No one else. I love you so much."

Weiss hugged her shoulders again tightly, nodding her head in vigor.

"Yes... I love you, too Blake. More than words can express." She pulled back again and smiled tearfully. "But you already knew that, didn't you?"

"Yeah." Despite herself, Blake managed a small grin.

Weiss nodded, wiping her eyes before brushing the backs of her fingers over Blake's cheeks as well.

"But we'll have time for this at the airport. For now..."

She turned Blake slowly toward the last person of their group.

Blake took a deep breath as she faced Yang, her features unreadable. Something within Blake wanted to run to her, jump into her arms and tell her all the things she had always been too scared to say right then and there.

She wanted Yang to tell her not to go.

She wanted Yang to ask her to come live with her one more time so Blake could give the _right_ answer.

She wanted Yang to hold her, kiss her, tell her she loved her.

And Blake wanted to do the same for her.

She stepped slowly up to the blonde girl who had saved her life more times than Yang herself probably realized she had. Blake stopped a foot in front of her, but she did not open her arms to Yang. She waited, seeing if Yang would invite her in.

Blake's heart leapt joyfully as Yang finally lifted a hand and reached toward her. For the first time that day, and the last time in who knows when, their eyes met.

Blake knew. She knew that if Yang asked her to stay now, there would be no way she could refuse. Even though Blake had told her to forget, what she truly wanted was just the opposite. She did not want to forget Yang, and she did not want Yang to forget her either.

Her friend's hand came to rest on Blake's shoulder, firm and strong.

Yang shook her a little, encouragingly.

Her words shattered Blake's world.

"I'll see ya around, Blake."

And in that moment, Blake understood. Yang was doing what Blake had always wanted her to do, even back on that rainy evening on the street-

Yang was letting her go.

She had fought for Blake long and hard, and the girl only realized this now. Yang had reached her limit long ago, had pushed past it, and now she could no longer fight.

Had Blake finally convinced her, too? That this was what she wanted?

She looked up into those lavender eyes, finding them dull and lifeless - hopeless - a weak, false happiness painted into them.

Blake's voice shook as she parted her lips to speak. "Ya...ng...?"

For some reason, she felt betrayed, though she knew she had no right to. She had done this to Yang and to herself. She had no right to start regretting her decisions _now_ when everyone who loved her had already gone to such lengths for her.

Yang had been her last hope of staying, but she was letting Blake go. Just as she had said she wanted.

Blake panicked. No one was going to fight to keep her here anymore, and it was all her own fault, for making them believe this was what she wanted. She had lied to everyone she loved - who loved _her_ \- and now she was going to pay for it dearly.

Yang was her last hope, and Blake blinked at her desperately.

"Yang... Yang, I-"

"No, Blake. Don't. _Please_." Yang swallowed thickly, her hand shaking on her friend's shoulder. "Please don't do this to me now. You can't." She wanted nothing more than for Blake to stay, but the girl had made her intentions clear. Or so Yang thought. "You've... said all you wanted to say... haven't you?"

Blake's heart pounded harder. This was... Yang was giving her her last chance, her last chance to say what she truly wanted. Even after all she had done to Yang, after how much pain she had put her through, the blonde girl was still giving her a chance to speak her mind, to speak from her heart.

But...

Blake did not deserve that chance anymore.

Her gaze lowered to the ground.

"Yes. I've... said all I've wanted to say. You're right." She reached up to place her hand over Yang's where it rested on her shoulder. "Thank you for everything. I mean it."

"Yeah..."

Yang could not allow herself to say any more than that. Those three words, they were on the tip of her tongue and she was so close to letting them slip.

She had no way of knowing, but it was the same for Blake. She had said it to Ruby, said it to Weiss, so why-

The car horn beeped once, tentatively, a light sound that only disrupted the scene as much as it had to. Blake needed to go.

Yang's hand dropped from her shoulder, her warm skin slipping through Blake's fingers until she held onto nothing.

"You should get going," Yang murmured. She did not meet Blake's eyes again. "I'll take care of things here. I'll take care of Ember, of Ruby, of Weiss... So you take care of yourself."

Blake could not help but notice that Yang had failed to mention _she_ would take care of herself.

Blake took a step back, putting more distance between them, making it easier to get away before she changed her mind.

"I will," she whispered. "Make sure you... call. Text me. Let me know how things are." Her words were heavy, laden with all the regret and fear and sorrow and pain that coursed through her body.

Yang stepped back as well, stiff as she tried to hold back the tears.

She just... needed Blake to go.

"I will," she said, but wether or not it was a promise was a different story. "I know you'll do great, Blake. I know you'll be fine. So just... get out there and do what you wanna do. We'll be here waiting if you ever need to come back."

"Right... thank you," Blake rasped.

She wanted to ask for a hug, just _one_ _more_ chance to-

Blake felt a tug on her sleeve. Weiss was already crying again, but they needed to go, or else Blake would miss her flight. To be honest, there was nothing any of them would have liked more. But none of them could bring themselves to say so.

Blake swallowed hard, forcing it down as she murmured her last words to Yang. "Goodbye, Yang. Thank you... for everything."

Yang turned her face away, unable to watch the scene of Blake's back leaving her.

"Bye, Blake. Good luck." She did not allow herself to say any more than that.

Blake turned away at last, and Yang thought maybe she would be able to breathe again.

But it was just the opposite.

Weiss led her sister to the car, and all the while, even as the family drove down the street, Blake never looked back.

Ruby and Yang watched until the car had disappeared, and only then did their legs give. They sat down side by side in the grass, and Ruby was already crying.

"Yang... Yang!" She made a fist and punched her sister's arm weakly. "What the hell is wrong with you? Why didn't you-"

"Do you think I didn't _try_ that already, Ruby?" Yang snapped. She did not know when her own tears had started to fall, but her face was wet now. "I _tried_, Ruby. I tried _so many times._ But I couldn't do it just now. She was already so close. I had to let her go. It's what she wanted."

Her little sister punched her again. "Yang, you _idiot!_ Do you really think this is what she wants?"

"I _do_, Ruby! Because she _told_ me!"

"And you _believed_ her?!"

"Well what the hell was I _supposed_ to do? What the hell do you people want from me?" Yang shouted, tearing at the grass. "I don't even know what I'm doing anymore...!"

Ruby started to cry harder and punched her again.

"_Idiot!_"

"It's fine, Ruby. Just... just let her go. Let her fall in love with someone else. She doesn't need me, anyway..."

"Yang!" Ruby's voice rose a pitch, and she was wailing now. "Don't-! Don't say that! Of _course_ she needs you! Don't say that-!" She threw her arms around Yang's neck and sobbed into her collar. Yang let herself fall back into the grass, holding Ruby tightly to her.

"She doesn't need me..." Yang told herself. "She doesn't..." She buried her face in Ruby's hair, chest heaving painfully. "God... Ruby... Ruby, I love her_ so much_..."

Ruby cried harder and louder when she finally heard her sister say what she had wanted to say all these years.

"Then why... why didn't you _tell_ her...?" she whispered.

And Yang did not have an answer.

They stayed that way for a long, long time.

They only sat up when a car pulled back into the driveway.

Weiss' and Blake's parents were still crying, and when Yang looked over, part of her expected to see Blake stepping out of the car as well.

But she never did.

Blake was gone.

Ruby stumbled to her feet and went to Weiss who was sobbing uncontrollably, so hard she could not get out of her seat. Yang sat in the grass, clothes damp with Ruby's tears and her own.

All anyone had done today was cry. In what way could this have been the right decision?

Yang staggered to her feet, looking up to the sky as a roaring sound met her ears. An airplane passed by overhead, and she knew Blake was crying, too.

Yang was lost, and everything hurt.

Everything.

She limped over to the car, taking Weiss and Ruby into her arms, and they wept.

* * *

**A/N: People are strange creatures, aren't they? Next chapter involves a lot of time skips.**

**Ch 7 preview: _"Just... pretend I'm her," she whispered over Yang's shoulder. "Pretend." _**

**_Yang shook in her arms, closing her eyes and gritting her teeth as she crushed Weiss to her with abandon. She sobbed for several minutes as she held her there on the sidewalk, their coats and scarves and hair downy with snowflakes. And Yang cried._**

**Please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Here we are now at the longest chapter of the story. Thank you so much to everyone who's read this far and plans to read until the end! It means so much to me!**

**A/N: This chapter will have a lot of breaks to convey the passage of time, so I hope it's effective.**

**Trigger warning for subtle self-harm implications for this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

* * *

Chapter 7.

_**Dream of anything, I'll make it all come true. Everything you need is all I have for you.**_

* * *

The day after Blake left, Yang went to Glynda's house to collect Ember.

She thanked the older woman again for all of her help, promising to stop by the school in the future from time to time.

Yang had purchased some supplies for the kitten already, and as she took her home, her thoughts wandered back to last night.

Blake had contacted her parents and Weiss as soon as she had gotten to her dorm, and Weiss had informed Ruby who had then relayed the information to Yang. The blonde was relieved to hear Blake's trip had gone smoothly, but wished the girl would have called her herself.

Then again, after what had been said and done between them, Yang understood that would have been difficult.

As she walked down the familiar sidewalk, back to her house, she mumbled aloud. "Six months, huh?"

That was how long it would be before Blake came home again, during the winter recess. Until then, the only way Yang could reach her was through texts and emails Blake wanted to send her, but otherwise, it was Ruby and the rest of Blake's family that would tell Yang news about the girl.

She unlocked the door and set down Ember who was jumpy and curious about the new environment. Yang had made sure to block off any small areas where she could get stuck and to keep any tapestry out of reach of the tiny claws.

Ruby and their parents had moved out, and Yang was still getting used to the silence and space of the house. She hoped having Ember around would help bring some more life back into the place.

Of course, Yang still had a routine to follow, such as calling or visiting her parents or Ruby every day. Her living alone was just so she could get used to it, used to the responsibilities. Yang had requested this because she wanted to grow up in every way she could.

Perhaps then, one day, she could mature emotionally as well. Enough to say the things she truly wanted to say.

But for now, she was still a child.

Even as she raised Ember and was the one responsible for her care-taking, Yang was a child.

Even as she made her own meals every morning and night, Yang was a child.

Even as she cleaned up the house and garden and car every day, Yang was a child.

Even as she started her job, started making money for herself to pay her parents and cover expenses, Yang was a child.

Because every day, Yang still refused to contact Blake herself.

And every night, she went to bed crying.

* * *

Individually, the days of summer passed by at a leisurely pace, but in retrospect, the season was over in the blink of an eye.

Yang worked full-time and even overtime whenever she could, but made sure to spare time for visiting her parents, and Ruby and Weiss.

With the frequency and lengths of time Yang saw her parents for every day, she never had time to be too lonely. Ruby and Weiss often came by the cafe she worked at for dates, and Yang would be sure to tease them a little before asking news.

Weiss would usually tell her about Blake that way, spilling everything she knew about her sister, even the things Blake would probably rather Yang did not hear about.

Yang had expected she would make friends at her new dorm, but evidently, Blake had yet to interact very often. She said it was because she had a lot of studying to do before the semester began; business was a difficult field of study, after all. Yang still wished she had gone into writing, because she knew for a fact Blake's creativity far exceeded her logical thinking and number calculation abilities. Weiss' college had a phenomenal writing program, and it would have been the perfect option for both sisters, especially since Weiss had gotten a scholarship and Blake likely would have, too.

But again, Yang remembered why Blake did what she did, the reasons why she flew out – alone – across the country to go to pursue her education, and a sinking feeling curled up in her stomach.

And again, Yang had to wonder just what lengths Blake would go to in order to avoid her, and when Yang saw her answer, she felt sick.

But most of all, she was reminded of her own cowardice.

* * *

As the days started to grow chillier, Yang could not tell if she was anticipating the students' winter break, or if she was dreading it.

Weiss started her first semester in August, and Ruby began her senior year of high school the month after.

As the days became colder and called for heavier clothing, the cafe saw more customers, and thus, more business. Yang saved every penny, spending only for Ember's and her own food expenses and basic necessities. She saved all she could while also paying her parents bit by bit, even though they always tried to refuse.

By the time December came around and the flurries started to fall, Yang had managed to buy gifts for her family.

Weiss had demanded she not get anything for her, told Yang to instead save her money for something she truly needed. Yang thought she could get away with buying something for Blake, if not for the excuse of Christmas or the excuse of Blake's birthday having been in the fall, then for the fact that she had returned for the first time in half a year.

She ended up purchasing a simple pendant in the shape of a black heart, a piece that was not on the Schnee's company line, but something that Weiss had negotiated with her connections to get her hands on before passing it over to Yang. The blonde paid for everything out of her own pocket, Weiss having deemed it alright if she intended to pay for her sister's gifts rather than something for Weiss herself.

As winter recess grew nearer, Ruby and Weiss often came by the cafe on weekends for their dates, and Yang made sure to stay updated on any news about Blake. But evidently, she was not saying much to Weiss and her family other than things were going well and she could not wait to be home.

Ruby had a countdown on her phone with the amount of days until Blake came back, and though she would probably never admit it, Yang had it marked on her calendar as well, starting every morning off by counting the days remaining.

When it was finally time for the final day, Yang was so anxious she could not stop moving about for a second that day. Her boss kept asking her if she was okay due to her constant fidgeting.

She was going to see Blake again. Tomorrow.

She did not know how much Blake had changed, but Yang knew for a fact that she herself had grown a bit in the six months that had separated them.

She felt that she could finally spill her heart out to Blake at long last if she needed to, but told herself that was not something to be done in the middle of a school semester. Perhaps that would have to wait until summer break.

But Yang was fine with that; she had waited this long, she could wait a little longer.

* * *

Blake's plane landed around noontime the next day, but with the holidays so close, Yang could not afford to take off from her shift at the bustling cafe.

Ruby had gone to the Schnee's residence to meet Blake at last. The girl was probably exhausted from her flight and needed some rest, but Yang still planned to go see her. She had specifically asked Ruby not to bring her to the cafe, as Yang wanted to give her full attention to Blake and not have to worry about customers.

Therefore, when her younger sister shuffled in through the door with both Weiss and an extra person at her side, Yang nearly spilled the cup of coffee she had been handing out.

She looked so... professional.

She wore a gray blazer over a collared button-up shirt, in addition to a knee-length pencil skirt and tights, and her shoes had small heels to them. Her long, wavy hair was tied into a bun, and if not for the familiar black ribbon she had never taken off for a day in her life, Yang might not have recognized her right away. Her purple trench coat and matching scarf were the only splashes of color on her.

Except for those eyes...

Yang's jaw dropped as she moved along the counter, getting as close to the three girls as possible.

It had seemed like such a long time since she had said her name.

"Blake."

When Yang spoke, the dark-haired girl looked up, directly into her lavender eyes, so intense that Blake almost recoiled. But Weiss and Ruby knew of her fears – she had told them – and now they both kept her steady, leading her slowly to stand before her old companion. Blake found it hard to speak, looking into that gaze, but when she did, she made sure her voice was steady.

"Yang. It's been a while. It's good to see you."

Hearing her voice again after so long...

It was like a dream.

Yang felt tears welling up, but she could not let them fall, not here, not now.

"Are you kidding me?" She grinned. "It's great to see you! Welcome back! You look great! I can't wait to hear about everything, so make sure you fill me in! My shift will be over in a few hours, so I'll stop by if that's okay. Or..." she paused for a moment. "Or you could swing by my place if you'd like. Say hi to Ember. I think she misses you, too."

She did not miss the slight sparkle in Blake's eyes when she suggested this, and it confirmed that she had not changed much in her time away. Yang's grin widened from where she leaned over the counter, scouring over her friend, letting her gaze rest on Blake's face as she parted her lips to answer-

"I'm sorry. I'm a bit exhausted after the flight. I'd just like to rest tonight," Blake said.

Yang noticed how she could not meet her eyes.

"I understand," Yang nodded. "Then maybe we can meet up sometime tomorrow, or any time within the next few weeks that you're staying! But yeah, for now you go get some sleep. Let me know whenever's a good time or day for you!"

"Alright." Blake gave a small nod. She then turned back around to Ruby and Weiss, waiting for them to lead her out.

But before she could go, Yang made sure to say one last thing.

"Blake!"

The girl turned around and looked back at her, her slightly-raised eyebrow inquiring what Yang wanted to say to her. The blonde girl had to sniff quickly and force her smile not to quiver. "I'm glad you're back."

She meant it. She really did.

And Blake _knew_ she did.

But the dark-haired girl shivered for some reason, and it was not from the winter air leaking in through the door. Again, she did not meet Yang's eyes as she mumbled, "Thanks."

Then, headed for the door, Ruby and Weiss cast uncertain gazes at Blake, Yang, and one another. Surely... there was something more to be said here?

But Yang waved them off with a flick of her wrist. Whatever it was she and Blake needed to discuss, they could do it some other day. She pressed her index finger over her lips, indicating to the two girls not to make a fuss of things here.

Ruby bit her lip, and Yang knew she was fretting, fretting that her big sister would screw up again and not speak to Blake properly. Weiss looked just as conflicted, obviously wanting to snap a thing or two at Yang to ensure she tell Blake what she needed to hear.

But again, Yang waved them off, a reassuring look in her eyes. She had decided what she would do and when she would do it.

For now, she could only wait.

* * *

And wait she did.

She waited a very, very long time.

Much longer than she had initially planned, and then some.

That winter break when Blake first came home... although Yang did get to meet up with her several times, it was always when there were other people around, be it their sisters, their parents, or other acquaintances. Yang never managed to get Blake alone so she could speak to her like she wanted to.

Perhaps it was because Blake never allowed her to do that, always making excuses, making sure Yang never got to be alone with her.

Blake was scared. She was scared and she had no idea what she would do or say if Yang said something now, after all this time. And Blake herself certainly was in no condition to say anything. She did not deserve to.

She... did not deserve _Yang_.

She told herself this every day, reminded herself that she had missed her chance long ago, that she should forget about Yang and move on, and let Yang move on as well.

Even when Christmas came around that year, Yang never got to give Blake her present in person. The girl kept canceling plans, changing her schedule around at the last minute, until the point where it was painfully obvious she was doing absolutely everything within her power to avoid Yang.

But Yang simply told herself Blake was doing this so she would not get her feelings hurt anymore than they already were; Blake was acting this way for her own benefit, and Yang would rather comply to her wishes than act out or speak against them. She liked that Blake was putting herself first for once in her life.

Even if it meant Yang had to suffer that twinge of pain in her heart every time they passed by on the streets or saw one another at their homes when visiting a sister, Yang would grin and bear it.

Because she still loved Blake far too much to do otherwise.

In the end, she had to give Blake's present to Weiss on Christmas day, as Yang needed to work at the cafe for several hours. Weiss thanked her in Blake's stead, giving Yang a small box of her own from Weiss herself. Yang had smiled and slipped it into her pocket for later, thanking Weiss gratefully.

But Weiss was not as big a fool as Yang or Blake was. She knew there was something else Yang needed. And yet, she could not give it to her.

So instead, Weiss did her best to be a stand-in, waiting for Yang to take her break before coaxing her out of the cafe and into snowy world outside.

She embraced Yang fully and without warning, murmuring apologies – for Blake, for her own helplessness, for the pain she knew Yang was suffering. "Just... pretend I'm her," she whispered over Yang's shoulder. "Pretend."

And Yang shook in her arms, closing her eyes and gritting her teeth as she crushed Weiss to her with abandon. She sobbed for several minutes as she held her there on the sidewalk, their coats and scarves and hair downy with snowflakes.

And Yang cried. She cried like she had not cried in a long, long time.

"Blake-!" she choked. "Blake, Blake... god I- I love her so much-!"

Weiss could feel the other girl's desperation in every nook and cranny of her body as she pressed close to her. She could feel Yang's love for Blake in that embrace, hear it clearly in her trembling voice, smell it in those salty tears she cried so freely now.

Weiss' breath came shorter as she held onto the blonde; Yang needed this, she needed this so badly. And she had needed it for such a long time.

"I know..." Weiss breathed, locking her arms even tighter around Yang's torso in an effort to comfort her. "I know, Yang. I'm sorry..."

Weiss had always felt Yang and Blake's unrequited emotions were partially her own fault, either because she pushed them too hard or not enough. She felt responsible for them, and she felt wretched because her own relationship with Ruby was always so perfect and warm and full of love.

So Weiss apologized, over and over again as Yang continued to hold her, believing for a while that she was Blake, convincing herself she was finally doing what she had waited over half a year to do.

Before long, she felt the girl in her arms shivering from the cold, and Yang pulled back - disillusioned - when she remembered it was Weiss she held and who held her.

But she smiled as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "Thanks, Weiss. I really... that felt good."

Weiss blinked back her own tears, straining onto her tiptoes as she brushed Yang's bangs aside, kissing her cheek lightly.

"I'm sorry," she murmured again. "I'm always rooting for you - for Blake. I still believe she loves you just as much as you love her, even though she's afraid to show it. The circumstances with her school... it's all so complicated. But I just don't know what to do, what _either_ of you can do. Either way... it's going to hurt us all."

Yang sighed, her breath billowing white in the chilled air.

"I know," she mumbled. "I know. But I wasn't gonna tell her now, not when she's got another semester to go through. I was thinking either this summer or next. Hopefully... by then she'll already have found someone else to date. Hopefully she'll already have someone there for her who can hold her and talk to her, instead of _me_ all the way across the country who can't even find the guts to give her a call from time to time."

Weiss stared up into her lavender eyes, her own blue orbs calculating and stern.

"That isn't what you want Yang, and you know it. And I don't think it's what Blake wants, either. She might not say it, but..." She stopped herself, not wanting to assume any aspects of her sister's feelings and potentially end up causing Yang even more grief if she was truly mistaken. "I just... _ugh!_ I wish you would do something for _yourself_ for once in your life, you oaf...!" She threw a soft punch to the blonde's shoulder chidingly.

Weiss was crying once more, and Yang embraced her again, more gently this time as she murmured her thanks to her. _It's just the opposite, Weiss. I'm _too_ selfish. I'm always too selfish..._

Even now, when she thought she had grown up a bit, she realized the only reason she was holding herself back from telling Blake how she felt was because she was still too scared of the pain she would feel if she was rejected. She was too selfish, only worrying about herself.

Yang was an idiot, always had been, and that would never change.

When she finally let go of Weiss, she patted the shorter girl's shoulder, thanked her again, and apologized again. Weiss glared up at her with watery mist-blue eyes.

"You've got enough regrets already, Yang. Don't let them keep piling up. You'll be crushed for certain."

"I know, princess."

She had not used Weiss' nickname in a long time, and for a moment, it brought her back to the past, to the times when the four of them were young and innocent. To a time when nothing mattered, when they were all team RWBY, when they did not have to worry so much about everything...

Yang shook her head, the cold air filling her lungs bringing her back to the present. "I'll be sure to talk to her again before she leaves next week." She pulled Weiss in for one final hug. "Tell her I said Merry Christmas when you give her the gift."

_Tell her yourself!_ Weiss wanted to cry out in exasperation. But she bit it back.

"Alright..." she sighed. "Merry Christmas yourself, you idiot." She jabbed her elbow into Yang's ribs, earning a chuckle.

"Soooo..." Yang hummed. "What are your plans with Ruby today?"

"That's hardly any of your business."

Their playful banter started up, and it took Yang's mind off of things for a little while.

* * *

Blake headed into the kitchen to silence the tea kettle, pouring the contents into cups for Ruby and herself.

Their sisters were presently meeting one another, and Blake had opted to stay home, so Ruby had decided to keep her company.

Blake's and Weiss' parents sat in the living room, so for now, Ruby scurried in to find Blake by the counter, adding the cream and sugars into their cups. Ruby knew it was not her place to ask, but she just needed to say something. It was Christmas, after all.

"So, Blake... do you plan to see anyone today?" she wondered casually.

Blake never paused for a second in her task of adding sugar, nor did she look up at her.

"No. I don't have anyone special, if that's what you're implying." Only then did she finally pause in her motions, lifting her eyes up to gaze out the small window into the wintery world outside. "I don't need anyone else..."

Ruby's heart sank for her sister when Blake spoke those words. She dared not press the matter any further, nor mention Yang's name.

"Okay then!" she said with a smile. She stepped to Blake's front, wrapped her arms around Blake's waist, and buried her face into her shoulder momentarily to hide her expression. "That's why you've got us, after all!" She nuzzled closer into the side of Blake's neck, making sure to hide her frown and fight back her tears.

Blake slowly returned the contact, calmly but firmly. She could not remember the last time she had received a non-familial hug like this. Though she loved her parents and Weiss dearly and truly, there was something different about the embrace of a friend. Ruby's touched seemed to quell her troubled heart, if only for a minute.

Then, she patted the younger girl's shoulder and pushed her back gently, offering a small smile.

"Our tea's getting cold."

* * *

Yang had always been prepared to wait for Blake.

She would wait for her as long as Blake needed her to.

But it still hurt when Blake left a day early without telling her.

Yang had been set on seeing her the last day of her winter break if nothing else. But a call from Weiss had informed her Blake had left without warning a day early, saying there was an error in her schedule and that she needed to go back to school quickly.

Once she found out Blake was gone again, it hurt more than Yang thought it should. Everything she had planned to say was now null and void for at least another five months.

But Yang told herself it was okay, because she would wait for Blake as long as it took. She would wait until Blake was ready.

Therefore, the only thing Yang could do by means of a goodbye that winter was send the girl a text message: _Sorry I missed you. Be safe, good luck, and come back soon._

And still, she could not bring herself to say those three words, even in her message.

And still, she never once received a reply.

Ruby knew Blake's early departure had hurt her sister more than any of them; although Yang was best at hiding her pain and playing it off around others, Ruby knew her better than anyone else. When she had been living in that house with her, she had heard Yang's stifled sobs more nights than she cared to admit.

She visited her sister the following day and spent it with her, reminiscing about the events of Christmas, telling her of plans for school as she played with Ember, trying to get Yang's mind off of things.

She never once mentioned Blake.

But she did make sure to go to Yang on her own accord multiple times and squeeze her tightly. It was just like what Weiss had done a few weeks ago, and although the blonde girl did her very best to stay composed, all it took was Ruby's simple murmur of "Let it out, sis" and Yang was a wreck, bawling and wailing and shaking hard enough for Ruby to follow suit.

Ruby often felt guilty for being so happy with Weiss, and knew her girlfriend felt the same way when their sisters were so distraught. Why was it they could not just be together? What cruel fates were so adamant about keeping them apart like this? It was not fair.

So Ruby cried with her as Yang broke down, something she had wanted to do again every single day after her meeting with Weiss. Crying alone to the cat helped sometimes, but it did not serve the same results as crying to another person who could hold her and sympathize completely.

It hurt so badly. Even after months of waiting and being away from Blake, Yang still could not bring herself to say what she wanted to.

At least, not to the right person anyway.

She had confessed to Weiss and now to Ruby, even though both girls were already aware of her affections for Blake, affections that had not wavered in intensity or validity for so much as a second for the past several years.

It hurt.

It _hurt_.

But Yang needed to wait.

She would wait as long as Blake needed her to - that was what she kept telling herself.

Because hopefully by the summertime, Blake will have found someone else. Yang prayed she would, simply so she could shut down these feelings entirely and without regret.

So she waited.

* * *

Months passed.

Birthdays passed.

Seasons passed.

Life passed.

The process was unrelenting and unchanging after that first year.

Blake would return home on her recess weeks, meet Yang briefly and exchange pleasantries. But never anything more.

Yang sent her birthday wishes every fall and never once got a word of thanks or any wishes from Blake on her own birthday when summer rolled around.

Yang knew from day one that she was being ignored, hopefully so Blake could forget about her, too. But no matter how hard she tried, Yang could not stop herself from sending those messages.

Though she was aware they would be ignored, she knew Blake still received them. Blake's choice to ignore them was her own, but Yang just needed her to know that she was still thinking about her. Even if she was trying to pretend it was not in a romantic sense, she still cared about Blake, and she needed her old friend to know that much at the very least.

Even when she came back home, Blake never once came to visit Yang. The only time the blonde would see her would be the occasional meeting at the cafe with Ruby and Weiss at Blake's side, and very rarely, she would meet Blake at her house on her way to pick up Ruby.

But their meetings were always the same; quiet, subdued, no contact – not even their eyes – each dealing with her own form of suffering, self-induced repentance.

They drifted apart.

They had been reduced to acquaintances, but it felt more like strangers.

. . .

Three years passed by in this manner.

Every day of her life, Yang reminded herself she was living a lie.

She told herself she wanted to move on, and that she wanted Blake to move on, and yet she never once tried to date.

She did not want anyone else.

Every time Blake returned, she prayed there would be a boyfriend or girlfriend on her arm, but there never was; nothing to set Yang free from her tormented heart.

When she asked Weiss, the white-haired girl reported every time that Blake did not have anyone else. Evidently, the only commitment Blake had was to her schoolwork.

Three years feels a lot longer when you are waiting for someone you cannot have. And yet, when you finally stop and look back on things, the years have passed by like clouds, flippant on the ever-moving breeze, and often hiding a storm within.

Yang was promoted in her job, earning a raise on top of working overtime, enough to pay every expense she needed and then some.

Ruby graduated high school and started attending a local college not far from home, one that still allowed her to see her parents, Yang, and Weiss on a near-daily basis while still being able to chase her dreams entirely and securely.

Weiss continued her studies at her present college, taking extra classes alongside learning about the family business from her parents.

On the year that found Weiss twenty-two years of age and Ruby twenty, they made the official announcement that they were going steady, although there had never been a doubt in anyone's mind previously of who their strings of fate connected them to.

Yang still had to wonder about her own string, constantly wishing to both cut it and yet try mending it just one more time.

Three years.

In addition to the previous ones, it had been roughly ten years since Yang had first fallen in love with Blake - ten years and she was still a child who could not say what she wanted to say, even after being handed so many opportunities.

Ten years.

She had waited _ten years_ of her life.

How much longer could she keep this up?

* * *

It was that summer, before she came back to her hometown, when Blake revealed her plans for the future to her family.

Weiss called Yang as soon as she knew; Blake was going to try and get into another school for business, one that would reflect her exceptional marks.

One that was an entire ocean away.

A foreign country was a much more terrifying thought than simply the other side of this one, for too many reasons.

Yang's throat closed up when she heard Weiss' words. "How... how do your parents feel about this?" she rasped from her end.

There was a pause, heavy with uncertainty that Yang could almost taste.

"...They said they think it'd be a wonderful experience for her. But I know deep down they're like the rest of us. Scared. We don't really want her to go, but if this is what she wants..."

"_Is_ it?" Yang said quietly.

"...You can't ask me that, Yang. I'm not her. I don't know what she wants. Sometimes, I might act like I think I do, but when it comes down to it, I'm not Blake. I don't know what she truly wants. She's the only person who does."

Another pause.

Then:

"And the same goes for you, you idiot. You're the only one who knows what you want, and you have been for the past _decade_."

That word gave off enough impact to have Yang wince. Weiss was as straightforward as ever.

"So ask yourself this, Yang. Ask yourself the same damn question you've been asking yourself for ten years. Is this was what _you_ really want?"

Without waiting for an answer, Weiss hung up, leaving Yang with the nagging dial tone. She closed her cell phone, resisting the urge to kick the wall as hard as she could.

"Of course not," she growled. She bit her lip until she tasted the tang of blood, just before it started to quiver. "Of _course_ this isn't... what I want..." The anger quickly faded from her tone as she sank to her knees. "Of course it's not..." She made a fist with fingers that were trembling too much to stay together and gave a weak punch to the floor as she curled in on herself.

The tears made familiar circles on the floor of the breezeway; the carpets and tiles and wooden floors of this house were not unfamiliar with such wetness, and Yang believed the salt had seeped into them enough for her to smell it every time she inhaled.

There was a soft patter of paws near her ear and Yang looked up into two wide amber eyes, feeling a tiny wet nose bump against her own.

Despite herself, she managed a small smile as Ember pressed against her knee with a soft purr, and Yang stroked down the cat's back to the base of her tail. Had it not been for this cat to keep her company at times like these, Yang was sure she would have done some pretty stupid things when she was alone.

Leaning back against the wall, the cat curled into her lap. "It's not fair..." Yang murmured. "I want to be a cat. You don't have to fall in love and get crushed like this. Lucky little furball..." She sighed, hunching forward and pressing her lips to Ember's head, earning a louder purr in response.

She remained that way for a long time until the fog in her mind started to clear. This... really might be her last chance. Even more so than four years ago when Blake had first left for college. This was not just across the country; this was across the world.

She could not do it over ten years, and yet now Yang needed to figure herself out within the course of two weeks.

Two weeks was all she had. Blake would only be home for that long before she needed to make preparations for her travels; she was lucky her college was even letting her come back at all.

_I've gotta do it_. Yang told herself. _I've gotta. _

It was not an option anymore.

* * *

This visit of Blake's was just like all the others, where she would stay at her house with her parents and Weiss, and occasionally go out with her sister and Ruby.

Only this time, they never came by the cafe.

No matter what Yang did, she failed to see Blake, first for a week, then for eight days, then nine, then ten...

She had even gone so far as to specifically ask Ruby to bring her to the cafe, but her sister always texted or called her back saying how Blake refused. Evidently, Blake had even gotten into a spat with Weiss about it, but still she would not come.

If Yang could afford to take enough time off to wait at her house all day for Blake, she would have.

All text messages and calls she sent to her were ignored, just as always. The numbers on her calendar had dwindled and were so low now.

Yet no matter what she did, she never got the timing right, never got to the Schnee mansion at an appropriate time to ask for Blake.

One evening, she even went so far as to trouble Weiss, calling from outside the house and asking that she bring Blake out to her. She could hear Blake's voice in the background on the other end of the phone as she refused, heard Weiss' exasperation as she demanded answers. When she finally addressed Yang again, all she had were apologies.

"I'm sorry. Nothing that I say will convince her. She's only home for two weeks this summer because she has so many preparations to handle for the move. You'd think she'd at least try to enjoy her last few days here... I can't fathom why she's being like this. She knows just as well as I do that she wants to see you right now more than anything, but..."

Yang cursed and kicked a pebble, sending it flying down the length of their yard. She was seriously considering calling out of work tomorrow, despite the fact that she was the manager now and had new employees to train and tons of things to do-

"But..." Weiss' voice continued to carry from her end, and Yang fell silent to listen. "Today's Tuesday... Her flight's this Sunday, but she says she plans to see you the day before she leaves. She said this is a promise." Weiss still sounded a bit skeptical herself about her sister's words. "But you can consider it a promise from me as well. I'll get her to you that day no matter what, even if I have to drag her by the bow. I swear it, Yang. From the bottom of my heart."

There was a pause, and Yang sighed heavily.

"Alright. Thanks, Weiss."

"So... I'm sorry, but until then, you'll have to wait."

"Please," Yang scoffed. "Weiss, I've waited ten years for this girl. I can wait four more days."

"...Alright. Take care of yourself, Yang. I'll stop by the cafe with Ruby tomorrow." And with those words, she hung up.

So Yang did what she did best.

She waited.

* * *

Friday morning, she got out of bed to mark her calendar.

She felt old, like her bones were made of lead, even though her mind was a jumbled mess that only a woman in her prime could be burdened with.

Ruby and Weiss had stopped by the cafe the last few days, and even come over to her house last night. Blake was evidently holed up in her room at home, doing assignments for school or making preparations of some sort.

Yang forced herself out of bed. _Just one more day. One more day and I can finally..._

She really _was_ going to say it this time. She had ordered Ruby to punch her in the gut if she did not, and to keep punching her until she fessed up. Her sister had agreed; they had all been waiting far too long for this.

So she forced herself out of bed, fed the cat, showered and got dressed, ate breakfast and headed off to work.

She worked hard all day, more so than usual, efficient and mindful of every task, competent and focused. She had learned years ago that working diligently was the best way to take her mind off of other things.

She worked until her usual evening hours, a bit anxious when she finally flipped the "Closed" sign on the door and locked up.

As she walked home, she could only think of one word.

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow was it. Really and truly her last chance. She had informed her co-workers to prepare for her sudden absence if need be; they knew a lot of the story, since Yang had such a big mouth.

She walked all twenty minutes back home, enjoying the warm evening air and the fact that she could save gas money this way during the warmer months.

When she got home, she was greeted with an eager mew, and squatted down to pet Ember before she started making dinner. She was so antsy, unable to sit still in her seat in anticipation for tomorrow. And god, was she nervous.

But more than that – more than anything – she was resolved. Resolved to say what she had waited so many years to say. She could say it to Ruby and Weiss and it was entirely different from what she wanted it to mean to Blake.

She had just finished eating and was cleaning the dishes, getting ready to change into her sleepwear when a knock came on the door. Puzzled, she quickly dug into her pocket to retrieve her phone, however there were no messages.

Unnerved, she headed toward the door, unable to see whomever was at her doorstep even with the outside lights on. She cautiously unlocked the door and opened it slowly.

She almost had a heart-attack.

"B... B-Blake!"

She gasped all too loudly, whatever composure she had intended to show Blake when she met her tomorrow completely thrown out the window. The first time they had seen each other face-to-face in half a year, and the first thing Yang did was nearly fall over.

Blake stood before her, dressed in a blouse and shorts, her long, wavy hair down all the way with her bow peeking out atop her head. Yang had almost forgotten the young business-woman-to-be could ever look so comfortable, so natural in such normal clothes. But that was hardly what mattered now.

Yang had no idea what to do. She had not been prepared for this at all, not _now_.

"Blake... god, um... oh god..."

It took everything – every damn thing she had – not to break down crying then and there. She brought a hand to her mouth briefly and swallowed hard.

All the while, Blake kept her head bowed, only lifting her gaze as high as she needed to in order to see.

"Hi..." she murmured. Her eyes moved up just long enough to pass over Yang's lavender ones, those lovely pools of color she had not seen in god knew how long. She took another deep breath, feeling the air tremble in her lungs as she exhaled.

"May I... come in?" She bit her lip. She had absolutely no right to be asking such a thing after what she had said, what she had done to Yang. She was so horrible, because she knew what the blonde's answer would be.

"Of-Of course! Y-Yeah, please come in, _please!_" Yang stepped back, holding the door for Blake as she entered.

The place smelled of lavender, and that was probably the only thing that had not changed since Blake had last been here years and years ago.

So many things were gone – she had seen them over at Ruby's place where she was currently living with her parents, though she and Weiss had plans to find a nearby apartment very soon. A few newer items had taken place of the older ones, but there was so much space. It felt so lonely.

Blake felt lonely just by stepping inside, until she heard a small sound.

She looked down, and it took every ounce of what she had learned in her years of professional education not to start crying.

A full-grown black cat with sleek, well-groomed fur stood at her feet, tail swaying contentedly.

Blake may have stopped herself from squealing, but Yang could see that familiar twinkle in her eyes, the exact same one she had seen the very first day she had met Blake - the twinkle she had gotten whenever she had seen Shroud, and when she had seen her kitten for the first time.

"Blake..." Yang smiled, waving her hand at the cat. "This is Ember. I'm sure you remember her."

Blake had already gotten to her knees and reached out her hand. Ember was cautious at first, and Yang thought her heart would shatter if she rejected Blake now. But the cat padded up to her, brushing her muzzle against Blake's fingertips with a small purr.

"Hi, baby girl..." Blake whimpered. "Come here, you..." She took Ember into her arms and held her to her chest. How many years had it been...?

Yang smiled, most of her shock at the surprise visitor having settled somehow. When she looked at Blake now, exactly as she had seen her so long ago, she almost felt as though she had never suffered the times without her.

With Blake beside her now... it was like she had never left.

Blake should never leave again...

Which reminded Yang of the matter at hand.

"S-So, Blake..." She cleared her throat, sitting down beside her old friend on the floor, weighing the possibility of having to sit on her hands to prevent herself from hugging Blake right then and there. "Blake, you... you were supposed to come over tomorrow..." She could not arrange her words as she wanted to.

But Blake knew she had to explain herself.

Slowly setting Ember back down, she let out a long sigh. Where could she even begin? All the torment she had put Yang through was not nearly as bad as what she herself had suffered through, she was certain of that.

"I just..." She tilted her chin up to look at the ceiling, hoping it would keep the tears in her eyes back. "I just wanted... to apologize." Only then did she finally – _finally_ – meet Yang's gaze. "For _everything_."

The tears started to fall anyway. "I'm such a coward. I'm horrible. I've... avoided you all these years, and I never gave you a proper explanation... for anything..." It was already hard to talk, and she needed to close her eyes, unable to hold Yang's gaze for more than a few seconds. Full tears ran down her cheeks, hitting her bare knees and sliding down onto the wooden floor. "All these years and I... I've wanted to see you, but I-I'm so horrible..."

Sitting there watching her, Yang could only think three thoughts; that Blake had not changed a bit when she cried, that the effect was still the same on Yang when she witnessed it, and that she wanted – _needed_ – to hug this girl _right now_.

Yang slid in closer, unsure. She could not remember the last time she had hugged Blake with any certainty at all. Every time she could recall, it had been tentative, and she just wanted to feel _sure_ again.

But for now, she could only bring herself to do so much.

She reached out a hand and covered Blake's in her lap, realizing this was the first contact they had shared in almost a year. Part of Yang wanted to agree with what Blake was saying now, recognize that the girl had acknowledged her pain at least somewhat. There was so much more Yang wanted to say to her right now, half of which were things that made her enraged at herself. She chose her words carefully.

"Hey, now. There's... no need for that."

"There is," Blake refuted. Yang realized Blake had not pulled her hand away from hers.

"There's really not," Yang insisted. "We've both been idiots. We've both done stupid things we regret. _Really_ stupid things. So stupid we'd probably rather die than so much as think about them again." She felt Blake's hand twitch beneath hers and squeezed a little tighter. "We both..." She sighed, feeling her own tears falling. "We both messed up. Big time. Can't we just... acknowledge that and move on? Forgive and forget?" She was more than willing to do so, and could only pray Blake would be as well.

But Blake shook her head.

"No... I don't deserve your forgiveness. After what I put you through-"

"Hey." Yang used her free hand to tilt Blake's chin up, her eyes barely cracking open as they dripped more warm wetness. "It doesn't matter if you deserve it or not. You do. But even if you didn't, it wouldn't matter because I've already forgiven you." Her eyes were stern, words firm and clear as she conveyed her honest feelings. "Now... can you forgive me, too?"

Blake made sure to open her eyelids as much as she could, blurry vision focusing onto Yang's.

"Of course... of course I can. You've done nothing to- you don't..." Words failed her. So she just settled for what she wanted to say. "Of course I forgive you."

Yang had not realized how badly she had needed to hear those words from Blake until now.

"Thanks..." she choked. "Thank you... god, what was I _doing_ all this time? I'm so sorry..."

Finally, she wrapped her arms around Blake and pulled her close, letting them both cry. Blake clutched at the back of her shirt in return, and she failed to recall the last time she had returned one of Yang's embraces. It had been long, so, _so_ long...

They cried. For close to an hour, they cried, mumbling apologies and offering needless personal guilt between sobs. They had each forgave and been forgiven, and there was not an ounce of doubt about that fact.

But still, they needed to apologize, needed to hate themselves, to have the other stop her...

"I'm so sorry", "I forgive you", "Please forgive me". Yang must have uttered every single three-worded phrase to Blake – all except one.

_Damn it_... she cursed herself inwardly.

She had Blake in her arms right here right now, after ten years - _after ten goddamn years -_ she could tell her, she could finally tell her, she really _could_-

The grandfather clock in the hallway rang to tell them it was eleven.

Tomorrow. Yang had been set on telling Blake tomorrow anyway. She could do it. Now that she had talked to Blake like this, held her in her arms as she cried and been held by her as Yang herself cried...

And Blake had come here of her own accord that evening, she had come fully intending to set things straight between them. That was more than Yang ever could have asked for.

They had grown numb in their embrace by now, slumped against the wall, trembling and with the fabrics over their shoulders damp and salty. They had confessed so much, probably all but one thing.

But that could wait until tomorrow, right?

"Hey..." Yang's voice was drained after having cried for so long. But she was smiling a little, rubbing her hands gently up and down Blake's back. Her shoulder blades seemed to protrude more than they used to, and she felt a bit thinner; this had been bothering Yang for quite some time now, but at least she could _hold_ her. "Blake... you should probably head home. I could drive you or... or you could... stay..."

More than anything, she wanted Blake to stay.

But again, that was something she would have to tell her tomorrow. Yang's emotions were a fine jumbled mess right now, and she only grew more anxious when she heard Blake continue to mumble against her collar:

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."

Over and over again she repeated this, shaking all the while. Yang did not like it.

"Hey, hey, hey..." She gently pushed the girl back, already hating the feeling of Blake's body heat leaving hers. She sought out Blake's eyes, but they were closed, hidden behind damp lids. "Why are you sorry? Didn't we already establish all was forgiven? So what's all this now, huh?" She stroked her fingertips through Blake's bangs, running them down her temples lightly to stop at the back of her jaw. She waited tensely for an answer.

"I'm sorry... for what I have to do..." Blake rasped.

Yang was still.

"What do you mean?"

"Tomorrow..." Blake's voice was almost inaudible now. "I'll... I'll tell you tomorrow. I don't think you'll forgive me..."

"Blake." She pulled the girl to her again. "I'll always forgive you. For everything. No matter what."

She felt Blake shake her head, and Yang tensed.

"Not for this. I... It'll take you a _long_ time to forgive, if you can ever manage to find it in your heart in the first place."

Blake already hated herself for what lie ahead.

But Yang's arms tightened around her, pulling her as close as possible.

"Even if it takes a while, I'll still forgive you. Always, Blake..."

She had almost said it that time. It was amazing how effortless it had almost been, but she was glad she had stopped herself. When she uttered _that phrase_, she wanted it to be meaningful, more than anything else. She wanted Blake to be fully listening with all of her heart.

Silence filled the room around them, only Blake's sobs breaking it in small hiccups.

"Whatever it is," Yang went on. "We'll deal with it tomorrow, okay? Tomorrow..." The word seemed so far away. "But for now... are you staying?" She was hopeful, but not too much.

Blake slowly pulled away from her.

"No. I'm sorry."

"Then let me drive you-"

"No, it's fine. You should rest. I'll message my father."

"...Alright." As long as Blake would not be going alone, that was fine by Yang.

With deliberate slowness, Yang got to her feet, holding Blake against her and helping her up as well. All the while, the dark-haired girl kept murmuring apologies.

Yang brought her to the kitchen and made her some tea as Blake called her father. She had just enough time to drink her Jasmine – her favorite kind of tea, Yang had remembered – before a car horn sounded outside.

Yang led her guest to the door, locating Ember and picking her up to give to Blake one more time. She took the cat into her arms lovingly, and kissed the top of her head.

"I'm gonna miss you," Blake murmured before letting her drop to the floor. _Take care of Yang for me, _she requested silently.

She then opened the door and looked back to Yang, her eyebrows furrowed. "Of course, I'll... I'll miss you, too. I know I never really said it before, but-"

"Don't." Yang wrapped her arms around Blake again to quiet her. "It's fine. I know Blake, I know, _believe_ me."

She was still scared about what she would find out tomorrow, whatever it was Blake was going to tell her or show her. But Yang herself still fully intended to confess everything to her. No matter what.

_It's not an option_... she reminded herself.

The cool night air passed into the house, caressing Yang's face as it passed through her hair.

Blake offered one last apology.

"_I'm sorry, Yang_."

That one really hit home.

Blake... had not said her name all this time, in _years_.

Whenever they had met up, whenever she _had_ spoken to Yang, she had not once said her name in years. Yang could not remember how long it had been, but hearing it now made her realize how badly she had missed it.

And now... it sounded almost foreboding. She did not like it as much as she thought she should have.

Still, she would take it for all it was worth here and now.

"Don't be, Blake. Whatever it is, I'll forgive you. I'll help you, if you'd let me... but I know you probably won't, right?" Blake was still against her, and Yang sighed. "Alright. Well then..." She tightened her embrace on the girl. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay? Promise me, Blakey."

A pang went through Blake's heart when she heard her old nickname. She sniffled again, and it was all she could do to keep the pieces together.

"P-Promise..." she mumbled. "I promise, Yang." It felt better to say her name. "You... You have work tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah. But I told them to be ready to miss me. No matter what time you need to be here to see me, I'll be here, okay? So just call me if you have to or send Weiss and Ruby over to get me. I'm not gonna miss you tomorrow. No matter what."

"...Okay." Blake squeezed her again.

The car horn beeped one more time, softly, as not to disturb too much. Yang felt Blake try to pull away, but she refused to let her go just yet.

"Alrighty. I'll see you tomorrow, then." She really should have stopped there, but her damn mouth kept blabbering, channeling her thoughts without her mind's consent. "You're beautiful, Blakey. I just... I've always wanted you to know that. Stay beautiful and don't ever, ever change, you hear me?"

It hurt to listen to Yang's words, but she did. Blake kept her face hidden at the side of Yang's neck and sniffed again.

"Thank you..."

It was the least she could do, to show her gratitude and not deny Yang's kind words for once in her life. Blake almost said something she was surely going to regret, and it was a miracle that she had swallowed it back down.

Yang held her a moment longer, feeling Blake's heartbeat, subdued and slow.

But she had to let her go now.

Yang released her and stepped back, keeping only her hands around Blake's.

"I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

Blake nodded, eyes downcast. "Okay."

Yang held onto her hands for a moment longer, and Blake let her.

Then, she turned away and stepped outside.

Yang bit her lip as Blake's hands slid out of hers.

The door closed, and she was gone.

Yang listened to the sounds of the car driving off.

Blake was gone.

Again.

Yang leaned back against the wall, slid down, and though she was not entirely sure why, she wept.

* * *

**A/N: Next week is the finale. Thank you all so much for reading this far!**

**Ch 8 preview: _Her heart was pounding faster than her feet were touching the ground, and Yang continued to run for dear life. Her vision was blurred with tears and her legs were shaking. _**

**_She tripped. A cry of pain ripped from her throat as she collided with the concrete sidewalk, and she felt trails of blood oozing from her knees and palms. "Damn it...!" She screamed, scrambling back up. She staggered, trying to remember which direction to run in, how to move her legs, how to breathe..._**

**Please review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**I cannot _begin_ to express my gratitude for all who have stuck with me these past 8 weeks. As you may know, multi-chapter fics aren't typically my forte so I really, really hope this finale chapter can satisfy.**

**Trigger warning for subtle self-harm implications for this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

* * *

Chapter 8.

_**With the touch of a hand, I will turn your life to...**_

* * *

After years of sleepless nights plagued by nightmares, Yang felt strangely refreshed when she awoke that morning.

The bedroom was wide and empty just like always, save for Ember who was curled up at her hip. Yang was not sure she could recall the last time she had slept so soundly.

But considering the things Blake had told her last night, she got a bad feeling about _something_.

Yang rolled herself out of bed to check her phone, but there were no messages.

_Am I just being paranoid?_ she wondered.

With a prickling in her gut, she headed to the bathroom to change, still fully intent on going to work.

The morning seemed quieter than usual. The hissing water of her shower sounded subdued somehow, as did the sounds of the coffee maker in the kitchen. Even as she walked to the cafe, the passing cars and sounds of nature seemed so distant.

She kept her phone on the loudest setting, hellbent on receiving Blake's message of whenever she was visiting. Yang assumed it would be around the time the cafe closed, but she had precautioned her fellow workers to be prepared for her sudden absence just in case.

Yang was tense all day, very nearly spilling coffee here and there, so much so that her co-workers knew something was going on. Every motion she made felt like the vibrations of her cell phone, but every time she checked, there was nothing for her.

That day, more than any other, her mind was filled with thoughts of Blake, of what Yang was going to say to her this evening, of what Blake was going to say to _her_, something Yang would not easily forgive her for...

_Maybe... there's really someone else? She thinks I won't forgive her for falling in love with someone from her college. But then what happens to them now when Blake leaves-_

No. That was not going to happen. Everything Yang had planned for today was to ensure Blake did not go through with her plans to leave the country, no matter what. Even if there _was_ someone else in her life, Yang would still confess her feelings and make Blake stay.

_It's not an option..._

She knew deep down that Blake did not want to be a businesswoman. Just because her parents had given her the opportunity to attend this faraway college, Blake was merely sticking to her guns but...

...But it was about time she started living her own life, doing what she _wanted_ to, not what she felt obliged to do. Weiss' local college had amazing and well-priced writing courses, and Yang still knew Blake wanted to be an author more than any other profession.

As Yang's mind continued to wander, even during her lunch break, she needed to shake her head and remind herself what to focus on. The things she needed to tell Blake today...

She mulled things over in the break room at the back of the cafe, absentmindedly chewing on a sandwich and remembering to occasionally swallow.

It was almost time to return to her shift when the countdown began.

Yang looked up when a co-worker addressed her. "Ah, there's someone here asking for you," the girl reported.

Quirking an eyebrow, Yang stood and left the break room. She arrived at the side of the counter at the cafe and looked about until she found a familiar face. "Ruby?"

Her younger sister was panting and out of breath, silver eyes widening in dismay as she saw Yang.

"Damn it... I knew it, I _knew_ _it!_" Ruby cursed.

"Woah there, lil' sis. What's going on?" Yang's tone immediately turned serious and her eyes narrowed. "Did something happen? Do you need help?"

"No, that's not it!" Ruby cried, drawing a few stares from onlookers. Yang quickly slipped out from behind the counter and led her outside the cafe. The summer sunlight did not feel as good as she thought it would anymore.

"What is it?" she pressed, her heart already pounding harder as her mind started to wander.

"It's Blake!"

Yang's heart stopped.

Her hands started to shake and she shoved them into the pockets of her shorts to keep herself steady.

"W... What about her?" she stammered.

"I _knew_ it!" Ruby stomped her foot in a rare display of frustration. When she next looked up to Yang, there were tears spilling from her eyes. "I _knew_ she didn't tell you...!"

"Ruby, calm down!" Yang was not one to be talking; she was shaking, too. She removed her hands from her pockets and placed them on her sister's shoulders. "What happened?"

"Blake's leaving!" Ruby blurted.

"I know!" Yang felt something twist within her stomach. "Her flight's tomorrow and she-"

"No! Not tomorrow! _Now_, Yang! She's leaving _right now!_"

Yang's blood ran cold. Her expression must have changed drastically, because the hurt in Ruby's eyes increased when she saw her face.

"She... she what?"

"You heard me!" Ruby cried. "She's leaving right now as we speak! _Right now_ she's leaving to go to another country and we're not gonna see her again for a _really, really long time,_ Yang!"

But Yang was still too confused - too _hurt_ – to believe it.

"No! She's supposed to come over to my place tonight, and I was gonna tell her-"

"Don't you _get it_, Yang? She lied! She lied so she could leave without having to see you! She's not coming over tonight, she's not-! She's not... coming over anymore...!" Ruby broke down before her and started to sob. "I'm sorry, I-I should've called you as soon as I found out s-so you would have more time to try and find her b-but I wasn't thinking and I just _ran_..."

As Ruby whimpered, Yang finally connected all the pieces to the puzzle; why Blake had gone to see her _last_ night, why she had been apologizing so much all the while, something she was going to do that Yang would not forgive her for...

"_Damn it!_" Yang shouted. "God damn it! I don't believe this!" She yelled like she was angry, but on the inside she just wanted to cry, to collapse to her knees and shake and wail like the child she was and always had been.

But she could do that after she had completely and undoubtedly missed Blake for good.

Yang grasped her sister's hands to get her attention. "Ruby, where is she? Where is she right now? I know you're upset but I need you to think for me, sis."

Ruby nodded her head vigorously and choked back another sob.

"I-I was going over to visit Weiss about half an hour ago and Blake was just leaving. She said she had an emergency back at her school and had to leave a day early b-but I know she was lying! The way she looked at me-!" Ruby shook her head, trying to focus on what she needed to explain. "B-But she said goodbye to me and she told me not to tell you until after she was gone but I just _couldn't_-!"

"Ruby..." Yang hugged her sister gently, petting through her hair. "I know it hurts but _please_. You've gotta tell me where she is. This is really my last... chance..."

The words sunk in, and she started to tremble.

Ruby felt her sister's shaking and inhaled a shaky breath.

"S-She said she was going to your place to... drop something off. I-I don't know how long it would have taken her, h-her dad took all her things to the airport in his car in advance s-so I think she went on foot..." Ruby pulled back and stared up into Yang's eyes. "Yang, you... you gotta stop her."

"You don't have to tell me twice." Yang let Ruby go and stepped back, legs tingling. "Thanks for telling me. I know you broke a promise to Blake, but-"

"Okay, okay just _go!_" Ruby shouted. "I swear to _god_ if she's not with you the next time I see you, I'm gonna punch you _so hard_-!"

"I got it!"

Without another word, Yang took off. She trusted Ruby to tell her co-workers what had happened. Yang did not care about that anymore, she did not care about anything anymore-

Only one thing, one _person_...

She ran as fast as her legs could carry her and then some. _Damn it, damn it, god _damn_ it! She thinks she's so clever, sneaking away like this! Like _hell_ I'd give you that satisfaction, you idiot!_

The run seemed to take forever, like running from a monster in a nightmare and never advancing a step. But at last her house was in sight.

However, there was no familiar figure standing outside on her doorstep as she had hoped to see.

Yang came to a halt, scouring the area, but saw no signs of Blake.

"Damn it!" She turned to start running again, but before she could, something caught her eye.

Yang quickly went to her mailbox where the flag she had left down had been put up. Any mailman knew that was not how these things worked.

Yang opened the box and reached inside, tensing when she felt something beneath her fingertips.

There was a single letter, tied with a familiar black ribbon.

Yang's heart clenched as she gingerly removed the material and slipped it into her pocket. She then opened the letter, still trying to draw breath properly.

The handwriting was very familiar:

_Dear Yang,_

_If you've found this letter any time before 2PM, that means Ruby told you about me. I can't blame her, though. After all, this is a terrible thing I'm doing to the both of you._

_But if you have found this before 2PM, come to my house. I haven't gone to the airport just yet. I lied to Ruby. I went back home after delivering this letter, so if you've got anything to say to me, please come to my house to tell me. My flight is at 3, so I'll be at the airport by 2:30. I'm sorry again. I don't think I'll ever be able to say it enough._

_Sincerely, Blake._

Without a second thought, Yang stuffed the letter back into the box and tore off down the streets, not even thinking rationally enough to consider her parents' old car. Her feet were faster anyway.

She checked her phone as she ran. It was 1:57. If Blake needed to be at the airport by 2:30, then Yang still had time. It only took ten minutes to get to the Schnee mansion from her house on foot if she ran quickly enough.

Yang raced down a path that was all-too familiar, the intricate lines in the concrete, a path where she knew every crack and pebble, where her footsteps seemed to naturally fall into place...

Past the roaring blood in her ears, she heard a plane pass by overhead and pushed herself harder.

_You're not leaving me, Blake. Never again._

* * *

After Blake had suddenly revealed she would be leaving a day early, Weiss had been shocked enough to blurt out her disbelief on the spot.

But Blake insisted, and asked their father to take her things to the airport just to be ready; Blake said she had a few things to take care of, but would get there on foot with enough time to spare.

Weiss had hugged her tearfully after hearing all the things her sister had told her, and she was not sure if she would ever be able to stop crying.

But despite everything, Weiss had wished her well, kissed her cheeks lovingly, told her again and again that she loved her no matter what and wished her the best of luck and loved her some more.

To clear her head, she had walked down to Glynda's garden once Blake had finally gone.

Presently, she knelt in the grass before Shroud's grave, hands clasped together. She did not know where else to go, but she knew she needed to get out of the house, walk around and calm her mind, quell her heart. She had always liked to believe that Shroud was keeping an eye on her sister, a little guardian angel for Blake.

With a sigh, she let her hands fall back into her lap, blinking away a tear from each eye. The breeze was quiet and caressed her face, the distant chirping of birds meeting her ears.

_Please watch over her..._

Then, the silence was broken by the sound of heavy footsteps, fast-approaching and desperate. Weiss opened her eyes just in time to glimpse a flash of yellow, a familiar mane of messy tangles...

"Yang!" she shouted, getting to her feet instantly.

She saw the girl come screeching to a halt, and Weiss quickly followed the path out of the garden, meeting Yang on the sidewalk. The blonde was panting, sweat and tears running down her face as she went to Weiss.

"Weiss... Weiss, I've gotta-!"

"Hold on just a minute!" Weiss' eyes were wide in shock. "What are you doing? What gives you the right to look so distraught right now?" A bit of anger seeped into her tone.

Yang caught her breath a bit, eyes narrowing when she heard Weiss' challenging words.

"What gives me the right...?" she repeated. "What the hell does _that_ mean? Don't you know what's going on right now?"

"I know plenty!" Weiss growled. "I know that you're a colossal moron and these results are all due to your own indecisiveness! I thought you were going to tell her, Yang!" she snapped, furious tears swelling up behind her eyelids.

Yang was dumbfounded.

"What are you talking about?" She hardly had time for this, but there was something off about what Weiss was saying to her with such a look on her face.

Weiss eyed her cautiously as she answered.

"Blake told me everything. She told me how she went your house and confessed her feelings and how you _rejected_ her. No _wonder_ she's going back a day earlier than expected! You broke her heart, Yang! After ten godforsaken years of both of you being alone, she confessed to you and_you rejected her!_" she shouted.

Yang took a step back, jaw dropped as far as it could go.

"What the hell? That never happened! Where are you getting this from?! Yeah, Blake came to see me last night but she never _confessed_anything! All she did was cry and apologize over and over again-"

"Oh, come off it!" Weiss snapped. "You've always been a coward whenever it came to this, and now you've crossed the line and chased her off for good!"

"I'm _telling_ you that's not what happened!" Yang screamed. She was so confused, so exasperated and out of breath and she did not have much time... "Weiss, listen to me! Blake never said anything like that to me last night! Whatever she told you was a lie! Didn't Ruby tell you before when she came to your house?"

"Ruby?" Weiss' stern glare softened just a little, exchanging some of the anger for confusion. "She didn't come to my house. Not to my knowledge."

"What-" Yang cut herself off as everything suddenly shifted into place.

That morning, a few hours after Yang had gone to work, Blake had set her intricate plan in motion.

She had gone outside, probably just for a short walk around the block, a guise for what she would tell Weiss upon her return a short while later. She had told Weiss she had gone to visit Yang, that she had confessed her love and Yang had rejected her. That crushing rejection had supposedly been what drove Blake to pack her things and decide to take the next flight out of town.

Weiss believed her sister was so distraught she could not stay in this place another minute longer. As Weiss was enveloped in her sadness for Blake, she directed her anger toward Yang.

In the meantime, Blake knew that Ruby would be coming over to fetch Weiss for their usual weekend date. She had waited for the brunette to show up at their door, asking her parents to take her luggage to the airport.

During this time, she wrote her letter to Yang and said her final goodbyes to Weiss at home. When she saw Ruby had arrived, she slipped away from her sister and told Ruby the truth, that she was leaving now, a day early.

But Yang suspected these had been Blake's plans all along.

This was not a day early; this was the day she had planned to depart since day one.

Blake asked Ruby not to inform Yang, but knew that she would anyway, hence her letter. She had said goodbye to Ruby and left, letting Ruby assume she was headed toward the airport. She knew Ruby would run off to find Yang right away, and therefore would not run into Weiss to have their stories clash.

In the meantime, Blake put the letter in Yang's mailbox along with her ribbon. She had timed everything perfectly, planned it all out...

And now...

As things came together in her mind, Yang spilled the truth about Blake's actions to Weiss.

The white-haired girl was incredulous, disbelieving at first until everything had been explained in full. Once Yang had finished telling her what had happened, it all made sense.

"No..." Weiss murmured. "Wait, wait, so she _didn't_ go to see you? She didn't confess to you? She_ lied to me _about all of that?" The tears were already streaming down her face in rivulets. "Yang, I'm sorry, I-I thought such horrible things about you when she told me you-"

"That doesn't matter!" Yang panted breathlessly. "Blake did all of this, she _lied_ about everything to everyone and pit us against each other just so she could get out of here without having to face me! She's running away in every sense of the word, but there's no way in hell I'm gonna let her!"

Yang spun on her heel and dashed off several strides, continuing toward the Schnee mansion.

But a yank on her wrist stopped her.

"Wait!" Weiss cried. "Where are you going?"

The blonde whipped around to face her, one hand digging for her cell phone to check the time.

"Your house!" she barked. "In her letter, Blake said she'd be back at your guys' house until 2:30! Her flight's at 3, so I've only got so much time! She must have waited for you to leave or something and then gone back inside to wait and see if I'd come by then or not."

"What?!" Weiss shrieked. "Her letter... she said her flight was at 3? That'd she'd be home until..." She shook her head, too many thoughts jumbled in her mind all at once. Her heart was thumping rapidly as she tried to configure all the information Yang had just told her.

"No, Yang-! Yang, that was a lie, too! Blake must've told you that you could go back to our house to see her, but that was a lie! She's trying to waste your time! Her flight isn't at 3; it's at 2:40! She told me herself! She's got to be on board by 2:10! She lied and she's trying to waste your time so she'll be gone by the time you find out the truth!" she shouted breathlessly. "Don't go to our house; that's part of her hoax! She's not there, so get to the airport _now!_" She shoved Yang in the other direction with every ounce of strength in her body.

The blonde's lavender eyes were hollow and laden with pain as she stumbled forward. Weiss' throat constricted, but she kept shouting at her. "Go, Yang! Don't let her leave! _Go_, damn it!" She rushed forward and shoved her again, and it snapped Yang out of her trance.

Without looking back, Yang tore off, pelting back down the familiar sidewalk the way she had come.

Behind her, Weiss fell to her knees and watched her go, burying her face in the crook of her elbow. "Go bring back... my idiot of a sister..." she wept.

Weiss had not wanted to let Blake go either - none of them had - and they all knew it within the confines of their hearts.

_Blake..._

_"If there's something – _anything_ – you need, you let me know, and I'll get it to you. Somehow."_

She had sent Yang to her now.

Weiss could only pray she had made good on her old promise to her sister.

* * *

Yang's entire body ached, every inch, every corner, from the inside out.

If what Weiss had said just now was true, Blake's flight was at 2:40, and she needed to be on board half an hour before that.

She checked her cell phone as she ran and let out a helpless sob.

2:08

Yang shoved her phone back into her pocket, feeling the soft fabrics of the black ribbon as she did so. Her heart was pounding faster than her feet were touching the ground, and Yang continued to run for dear life. Her vision was blurred with tears and her legs were shaking.

She tripped. A cry of pain ripped from her throat as she collided with the concrete sidewalk, and she felt trails of blood oozing from her knees and palms. "Damn it...!" she screamed, scrambling back up.

She staggered, trying to remember which direction to run in, how to move her legs, how to breathe-

She fished for her phone again, cursing as another minute passed. She flipped it open and tried to call Blake. God knew her calls and messages had been ignored for the past several years, but she clung to some false sense of hope that Blake might answer now if she could. Yang had a feeling Weiss and Ruby were probably calling her as well, but if her phone was on and Blake _was_ seeing these calls, surely she knew she had been found out and was ignoring them purposefully.

"Damn it Blake, you're an even bigger coward than I am!"

Yang called as many times as she could and still received no reply. She even went so far as to try and call Blake's parents, to beg them to stop Blake if they could. But she got only dial tones from them as well.

"God damn it..." She cursed again.

2:16.

Yang knew that if Blake was already on board that plane, there was no way she could get to her past all the security...

The airport terminal was in sight, and Yang ran - _god_ she ran impossibly fast - she herself could hardly believe it. She had no idea where to look, where to start-

She needed a miracle, she needed an angel to grant her a wish because she was too damn scared she would not be able to do this on her own.

Her eyes scoured the billboards, seeking out which flight was set to depart at 2:40. The second she found it, she tore off, weaving through the crowds. Her mind was gnarled with dizzying thoughts.

_I can't miss her._

_I've got to tell her._

_It's not an option_...

Yang parted her lips and screamed her name.

* * *

After nearly having boarded the wrong plane, Blake was currently assisting her mother and father in moving her luggage to the proper location.

She still had just enough time to make the switch, and moved quickly. She had told her parents to go on ahead of her as Blake herself went back to retrieve one final bag.

Once it was back in her possession, she headed toward her proper plane. This was the bag that contained the things most precious to her. Those photographs of the four of them and Shroud, the scenes they had once lived so long ago that were now only distant memories...

Her phone kept vibrating in her pocket, and she remembered she would need to turn it off soon. She paused for a moment as she retrieved it.

All three of them. All three of them had called and messaged her multiple times, and Blake felt as though a tangle of thorns had snared around her heart. It tightened more with every beat.

They had found her out.

But it was too late.

She blinked silent tears off her cheeks.

"I'm so sorry..."

She turned off her phone and headed for her flight.

She was ready.

She was ready to face her new future and leave everything – every_one_ – behind.

She was ready to move on at last, leaving only turmoil and broken hearts in her shadow.

She was horrible, and she just wanted them all to be free of her...

...

So why?

Why was she hearing the cry of her name echoing loudly above the boisterous din of the terminal?

Impossible.

There was no way, there was _just no way_ she had-

"_BLAAAAAKE!_"

The shout was right behind her and it was furious and-

"Ah!" Blake gasped as an impact collided with her, bowling her back several steps, knocking against a wall and pinning her there, trapping her, refusing to let her go no matter how much she might struggle.

"Y... Y-_Yang_-"

Her voice.

Her heart.

Her resolve.

They broke all at once.

Yang crushed her against the wall. She was shaking all over, pulse hammering and reverberating through Blake's chest, but her grip was locked, refusing to budge.

Yang was sobbing into her collar, blubbering and weeping and wailing. Between her open-mouthed gasps, she panted a string of clipped phrases: "Thank god... you idiot... I made it... I f-found you... oh, thank god..."

Blake forgot how to breathe and she pushed her hands against Yang's shoulders, trying to shove her away.

"No... N-No, no, no, _no!_ You can't do this, y-you _can't!_ I was so ready-! I'm ready to _leave_, Yang! I'm leaving and you can't stop me so just _let me go_-"

"_Like hell, Blake!_" Yang shouted, shoving her harder back into the wall, pinning her there with every shred of strength in her body. "_Like hell_I'm gonna let you go after all that! You... You think you can just... you think you can l-lie to all of us... lie to Ruby and to Weiss and to me like that and then just _take off_ all on your own?" she panted desperately. "You think you can set up some cliché wild goose chase like this for us and then just run away? Do you _really_ think that's okay?!"

"Of course I don't!" Blake screamed, struggling with all her might. "Of course I don't think it's okay! I _know_ I hurt you, I hurt _all_ of you! Weiss was crying so hard, and Ruby looked so lost, and you-!" Her voice hitched thickly in her throat, and she tried again in vain to push Yang off of her. "Yang, let me go. _Please!_ This is the last thing I'm asking of you, I'm _begging_ you, okay?! This is the _last_ time I'll bother you, the last time I'll hurt you. So just please, _let me go!_"

"_SHUT UP!_" Yang bellowed. There was a damp spot on Blake's shoulder that continued to grow. Yang could feel her struggles, but she refused to let her go. Never again.

"Shut up, Blake, just _shut up!_ I'm sorry, but I'm not listening to you anymore, you _goddamn liar!_"

It hurt to say - everything hurt to say right now. But if hurting Blake by calling her that would shatter her resolve, if it would keep her there in Yang's arms just a _second_ longer, she was going to call her every horrible word she could think of.

"You liar! You idiot, you goddamn moron! What gives you the right-?! What makes you think you can just run off like this?! After all of that?! I don't care anymore, Blake! I don't _care_ what you want anymore! This is what_ I _want! I'm going to be selfish for once because _this is what I want!_"

_I'm sorry_. Yang thought with every word she shouted. _I don't mean it. I just want you to stay. I'm sorry..._

She grit her teeth when she felt nails dig into her back.

Blake was desperately trying to pull her off. Yang was stronger, she had always known that.

But suddenly, Yang remembered last night when she had embraced Blake so carefully, how fragile the girl's shoulders had felt...

Panicked whimpers shuddered past Blake's lips now, panting just above Yang's head. Her heart lurched, but still Yang refused to give an inch until-

"_It hurts!_" Blake shouted. "You're hurting me, Yang!"

Yang's breath caught.

Only now was she aware of Blake's needy gasps, her ribs pressing hard against Yang's forearms as she fought for breath.

_I-I'm sorry...!_

Slowly, Yang loosened her grip, feeling Blake shudder against her as she inhaled deeply.

But Blake did not try to run anymore. Her nails still clung to Yang's shoulders, but it was not for the purpose of pushing her away now; it was to keep herself grounded and on her feet.

Yang finally started to get her own breath back, chest heaving, though she still refused to lift her face from Blake's shoulder. She heard and felt the other girl hiccuping, her body jolting sharply; she didn't want to _see_ it, too

Yang murmured in a voice just loud enough for Blake to hear:

"I'm sorry..."

"_Damn it_, Yang..." Blake grabbed two fist-fulls of her blonde hair, frazzled and dirty from what Blake knew had been a frightening, enervating, and furious dash around town. She pulled lightly at those blonde tresses, but not away from herself – toward herself.

She pulled Yang closer to her, returning her firm embrace as best she could manage. "_Why_..." Blake wailed. "Why...? Why can't you just let me go, Yang? Even... back then on that rainy afternoon... even then, when I asked you to, _I begged you to_, you didn't let me go! And now-! ...Now, too..." Her voice broke hopelessly. "Why can't you just _let me go._..?"

Finally, Yang raised her head. Her gaze stayed downcast for a moment as they each breathed heavily, clinging to one another in every sense of the word.

"_Because_..." she growled. "Because, Blake. I'm not letting you go because I _know_ this isn't what you want. It's never been what you want, has it? I know it never was. Your family knew too, but you just never _explained_ to them, so you let them believe it. You're a really great liar, you know that? That's what _you_ think, anyway."

Still, Yang did not look up. She went on:

"So tell me, Blake. Tell me how the past five years of your life have been the "best ever" while you've been away at college. Tell me... why you're so _goddamn_ _thin_..."

This time, it was Blake who slumped forward to bury her face in Yang's shoulder. Her nails dug a little deeper, but Yang did not mind; Blake needed this.

"It's hard, Yang. It's _so_ hard... I _hate_ that place..." she wailed. "I hate it so much! I'm so stressed all the time and there's so much work a-and I never get to sleep anymore-! There's so much work and I hate all of it! This isn't what I want to do with my life! It never was and it never will be! So many times I've... I've been so stressed... I've almost done some really stupid things..."

Yang sucked a sharp breath in through her teeth. She did not want to imagine what Blake could have meant. She was shaking in Yang's arms, worse than that night in the rain several years ago. Worse than ever before.

Her voice was... hard to listen to. She sounded like she was in unspeakable pain.

"I hate it, Yang... I _hate_ it... I don't want to go... don't-... don't let me go..."

Yang swallowed again, trying not to think about what Blake might have suffered alone all those years.

"Hmph... Sounds like you're finally being honest... idiot..." She tightened her embrace, just a little bit. "That's good... Because I wasn't plannin' on letting you go, anyway. You know that." She sighed, rubbing her bruised palms slowly up and down Blake's quivering back. "It's about time you started being selfish. And me, too. I'm gonna be selfish now. And for the rest of _both_ our lives, we're gonna keep being selfish."

She pushed Blake back gently and looked down into her golden eyes.

"I'm gonna be selfish because I... I want you to be with me, Blake. I don't want anyone or anything else. Only you. It's only... _ever_ been you."

Blake blinked up at her, and in that one moment, everything was revealed in Yang's eyes.

The years of pain and grief and worry. And all the affections she had kept to herself for so, so long.

Finally.

_Finally_ -

Yang could say those three words:

"_I love you."_

It was a whisper, but one that spoke loudly. "Blake, I love you... _so_ much... I don't know what I'd do... what I would have done all this time without you... it's all so messed up – _we're_ so messed up... But I love you and that's the truth and it-it's always been the truth every second of my life, and it always _will_ _be_ till the day I die. An-And when I _do_ die one day, I want you to be there beside me holding my hand and promising me you'll see me on the other side and _god_, Blake I-I just... I love you, and I want-"

"Idiot." Blake gave a light shove against her chest. "Would you shut up for _three_ seconds? How am I supposed to... to say anything back if you keep talking like that? Can't you let me-? God, how am I supposed to make a comeback to that...? What the hell can I say..."

Yang reached up and brushed the backs of her fingers over Blake's cheeks in turn, catching her tears, despite how drenched both of their faces already were.

"Dummy. You can say what you've... always wanted to say... You can say it, Blake. Please? Because I-I wanna hear you say it, too..."

Blake maintained eye contact, blinking more tears free only to be caressed by Yang's gentle touch.

"C'mon, Blakey. Be honest for once, huh?"

An announcement was made over the loudspeakers; Blake's flight was leaving.

_Without her._

"No more..." Blake murmured. "I'm not running away anymore. I've been running for too long, and I've been hurting people – hurting _you_ – for too long. I'm done. I'm staying right here, Yang. I'm staying right here because I-"

She brought her hands up to cup the sides of the blonde's face, pulling Yang down closer to her.

"_I love you, Yang._"

Yang never thought she would hear those words.

"Thank you..." She sobbed, trying to smile, her lip quivering uncontrollably. Why had that been so hard to say before? She might never understand.

She tried to open her eyes, blinking away more tears every time as she looked down at Blake, at the girl she had loved for over ten years.

The girl she could finally have.

Yang leaned forward, and Blake met her halfway, pressing their lips together in a kiss that was a lifetime overdue.

It was everything.

That kiss said everything, conveyed every emotion, every scrap of love that had been hidden away in their hearts. The rush of their affections was unrelenting, and it overcame the pain and the uncertainties.

It was clumsy, enough to prove neither of them had ever kissed another before, not like this, not with such abandon and meaning.

It was passionate – needy.

And yet it was warm and gentle and caring, everything they had been missing until now.

It was what completed them.

It was difficult to pull away, but it became less so when they realized they could do it again whenever they wished from now on.

So slowly, they pulled apart, just enough to breathe.

Blake sniffed again.

"I love you so much, Yang. And I'm sorry. I'm _so_ sorry. I hope you can find it in your heart to-"

She was silenced by another kiss. Yang made her feelings clear with the contact: _Don't apologize. I forgive you. I love you._

Blake returned the kiss gratefully, sighing against her lips in relief and elation.

They parted again.

"I love you, Blake," Yang said again. It felt so good, so _right_ to say, and she wanted to keep saying it.

And she could. So she did.

"I love you, I love you _so much _Blake, and damn it I don't have the ring on me right now but just another month or so of work and it's all yours."

Blake's eyes widened.

"W-Wait, _ring_-?"

"Blakey," Yang said firmly. Her lavender eyes were serious, more than Blake had ever seen them before. "I don't have the ring right now but god..."

She got down on one knee.

Blake was shaking as she stared down at her, her hands in both of Yang's.

"Blake, I love you with all my heart and for all my life and I wanna – no – I'm _gonna_ spend the rest of my life with you. So even though I don't have the ring, I'm asking you anyway, _right_ here, _right freaking now_-"

Blake's heart stopped.

Yang asked it:

"_Will you marry me?_"

Blake fell to her knees, threw her arms around Yang's neck, and wailed.

"_Yes!_" she cried. "Did you even h-have to ask- Of course, I-I-!"

Yang started to cry again as she returned the embrace tenfold.

"Okay..." She felt like she could melt at any second, if she was not already doing so. "_Okay!_" Nodding her head, she giggled and buried her face into Blake's shoulder again, tears fresh. "Good thing your parents approved like... three years ago!" She laughed. "Haha, Ruby and Weiss are gonna pout. They've been dating how many years now and my dumb sister _still_ hasn't figured out how she's gonna ask yet and now look at _us!_"

Blake continued to sob in her arms for a long while. They lost track of time, but it hardly mattered anymore.

At long last, Blake pulled away, just enough to look into Yang's eyes as she kept her arms around her neck.

"Oh, please..." She rolled her watery eyes playfully. "Weiss is the one running a jewelry company. _She's_ definitely gonna be the one to propose."

Yang chuckled and brushed Blake's bangs out of her face.

"I dunno. I wouldn't doubt my lil' sister."

Then, the one knee that had been supporting her all this time finally gave, and Blake slumped to the floor with her.

Had that... really just happened?

Had she _really_ just confessed to Blake - _proposed to her_ \- and she had said yes?

Yang was still in shock, but god she felt so happy. Happier than she had ever felt before in her life, enough that she believed the ten years' worth of confusion and uncertainty had been worth it all for this moment.

She nuzzled into Blake's collar, and Blake ran her fingers through Yang's hair and down her back. Apparently the feeling of disbelief was mutual, because after a few more minutes of tearful laughter, Blake's voice came out in a murmur:

"Is this really happening?" she sighed, stroking gently over Yang's shoulders where she had dug her nails in not so long ago.

"I think so?" Yang chuckled, pressing a kiss to her throat. She then lifted her head. "Do you want more proof?"

Blake smiled, and for the first time in a long time, it reached her eyes.

She leaned forward and kissed Yang again, making sure to engrave it into her very soul, just like the previous two. This kiss, and every kiss to come, she would remember.

They lost track of time, only parting from one another when the tears had stopped, though the smiles never did.

They helped one another up, leaning and tugging until they were both on their feet again.

Blake looked to the side at the sound of her name, finding that her parents had retrieved all her things, not placing them on the plane when they realized Blake was not on it. When they saw their daughter wrapped in Yang's arms, they could guess what had happened.

And Blake's smile was more than worth it.

Yang supported her, grinning all the while as Blake asked them if she could stay, if she could withdraw from her present college and attend Weiss' more local school instead, if she could study writing like she had always wanted. She asked to live with Yang, and explained what had just happened.

Their only response was to embrace them both, and murmur all the words of acceptance they could muster.

As her parents took Blake's things back to their car, two more familiar figures stumbled into sight.

Ruby and Weiss had met one another shortly after Yang had taken off for the airport, and after sorting the story out amongst themselves, they had hurried on foot as fast as they could, praying they would not be met with a tragic scene.

That was why, when they saw Blake and Yang _together_, the younger sisters burst into tears, running to them and tackling them into vicious hugs.

Yang gave Ruby a spin as she laughed. "Hey, hey, why're ya cryin' lil' sis? Everything's okay now, it's fine! It's all good, see? Blakey's still here! She's... she's not goin' anywhere anymore." She let Ruby back down onto her feet, ruffling her hair affectionately.

"I-I know...!" Ruby bawled and blubbered. "I know, sh-she's here and she's gonna stay and Y-Yaaang!" She burrowed into her sister's chest. "I'm so happy! I'm so relieved! I'm so glad! Our t-team... team RWBY's back together-!"

Yang laughed again and held her tightly.

"You too, Weiss," Blake said, rubbing her sister's back gently. "I'm not leaving anymore. I'm staying here. I'm going go to school with you, and live with Yang. I'm going to see you every day for the rest of my life. I'm not going to leave you alone to worry yourself sick anymore."

"Blake... Blake..." Weiss sobbed, clinging to her for support. "I never wanted you to leave, I... I never should have let you go... I'm so glad Yang got to you in time..."

Blake smoothed her sister's hair out over her cheeks. "And I'll bet it was you who got her to me, right? Just like you promised you would."

Keeping one arm around Weiss, Blake opened the other up to Ruby, and the younger girl immediately went to her, wrapping one arm around Weiss and one around Blake.

The onyx-haired girl heaved a sigh. "I need to apologize for what I did you two. I lied – horrible lies – and I made you both worry and cry a lot. I know I did. And I'm so sorry..."

Yang smiled as she took in the heartwarming sight before opening her arms wide and engulfing them all.

"I don't think you gotta worry about that, Blakey," she murmured, kissing the top of her head. "Like me, I'm pretty sure they've already forgiven you, see?"

Weiss and Ruby could not exactly speak properly, so they just nodded instead. Yang chuckled again, feeling a few stray tears drip down her cheeks, keeping the girls close.

She had not felt this feeling in a long, long time.

It was a few more minutes before Yang finally gave pats to all of their backs. "Alright, alright! Enough crying about all that!" She put her hands on Ruby's shoulders and carefully pried her off Blake. "We'll have plenty more to cry about in the future as sister-in-laws, I'm sure."

The following gasps were to die for.

Weiss' jaw dropped and her eyes went wide and round.

"W-What-"

"_What?!_" Ruby shrieked over her girlfriend. "Wa-wait, wait who-? _What?!_"

Yang laughed again. "Well, lil' sis, unless one of _you two_ ended up proposing without our knowing it," she hummed, poking Ruby and Weiss' noses. "You can probably guess who did."

Ruby could only gape and squeak their names.

"Y-Yang! Blake! Oh my god! Wait, really?! _Oh my god!" _She threw her arms around Yang all over again. Weiss' reaction was similar, only it involved much more talking. She let out a high-pitched wail of joy as she embraced her sister, her shaking voice spilling congratulatory words alongside already starting to plan out the events and invitations and entrees.

After that revelation, it took a lot longer for them to part from one another and stop crying. Yang had seen passerby taking pictures of her proposal to Blake, and they did so even now as all four girls continued to hug and shriek and cry, but she just kept smiling all the while.

When the atmosphere finally started to calm down, Yang noogied her sister playfully.

"Alright, Ruby. Now I've gotten ahead of ya, so you'd better start thinkin' about when you're gonna ask the big question!"

"Ahahaa..." Ruby chuckled, blushing nervously.

Weiss raised an eyebrow as she wiped her tears.

"What's this? You think _Ruby's_ going to be the one to propose?"

Blake sent Yang a smug look that teased _"I told you so."_

"W-What?!" Ruby squeaked at her girlfriend. "Weiss, of _course_ I'm gonna be the one proposing!"

"That's what _you_ think, you dolt."

The two went into a light banter of bickering, just like always.

Even when Weiss and Blake's parents came to finally lead them back to the car, Ruby and Weiss refuted each other in their statements to be the one to propose.

Yang grinned all the while as they followed them out of the airport, her right hand tightly entwined with Blake's left.

"Ain't that sweet?"

"A sight for sore eyes," Blake agreed.

"Not as much as you are~" Yang smirked. Blake rolled her eyes and sighed.

It was then Yang remembered something important.

"Oh, hold up." She had Blake pause for a moment as Yang reached into her pocket. She pulled out a certain black ribbon and reached behind the girl's head to tie it back into place. "There."

"Thank you." Blake leaned forward again and pecked her lips quickly. "For everything, Yang. Thank you... for loving me."

The blonde stepped in for a kiss of her own. Blake felt a giggle against her lips and gave Yang a curious look.

"So..." Yang gave a small bounce of excitement. "So does this mean you're my-"

"Fiancée?"

"Eeek, oh my _gosh!_" Yang jumped up and clapped her hands briefly before she hugged Blake for the umpteenth time within the past hour. "Fiancée, _my_ fiancée!" she repeated.

"Yes!" Blake squeezed her back with just as much passion.

After all this time, after all that had happened... here they were.

She could remember their first meeting, when Yang had spotted her petting Shroud when they were younger, and saved her from the accident.

She could remember every morning they spent together, walking down that path to Glynda's garden as they grew older.

She remembered Ruby's confession to Weiss and the ensuing relationship that blossomed between them.

She remembered the hardships that followed, Shroud's death, Weiss' sudden illness, Yang's avoidance of her and Blake's similar treatment of the blonde.

She remembered the hope when Weiss got better, when they found out about Ember.

She remembered the pain of coming to the decision of leaving home.

She remembered every night she spent alone crying in her dorm room, imagining Yang had been in much the same condition each night.

She remembered the crushing fear and stress of her schoolwork, being so, _so_ alone and so overwhelmed she had neglected her health, and very nearly her sanity.

She remembered the years that had passed and how she had come home to visit, how she and Yang had grown apart, trying to distance themselves from one another deliberately.

She remembered all the birthday gifts Yang had sent to her, and all the times she had failed to reciprocate those kind actions.

She remembered planning out what she had done today, meticulous lies and painstaking timing as she deceived those she loved most.

But it was clear they loved Blake so much more.

Because here she was, no longer afraid, no longer alone.

She was warm, she was smiling, she was loved, she was _engaged._

"I love you so much, Yang." She embraced her, kissing her again.

Yang indulged herself contentedly, heart light, feeling Blake's was the same.

"I love you, too," she murmured back. "I love you, Blake and I'm _never_ gonna let you forget it. I'll remind you every day, as many times as you need to hear it, and probably sometimes you don't even _wanna_ hear it, but I'm gonna remind you anyway."

Blake nodded.

"Thank you. And I'll be doing the same." She pressed against Yang, sighing one more time, feeling her heartbeat to confirm everything. "I've never had the guts to admit it, but I've wanted this for so long... all along."

"So have I," Yang confessed. "Like I said, we were both idiots. For a long, long time." She ruffled Blake's hair. "But now we've got the rest of our lives to make up for it." She rubbed up and down Blake's back, eager to get some homemade food in her as soon as possible. "I'm gonna make you happy, Blake. I'm gonna make you the _happiest_ person in the world. You can count on it."

Blake nodded again.

"Me, too. I'm gonna make you happy, Yang. I'm gonna make you even happier than you're gonna make me."

"You already have," Yang purred.

Blake chuckled. She pulled away once more, and closed her eyes as Yang kissed her again.

Each kiss was sacred, even though they both knew there would be many more to follow.

The merry calls of their sisters met their ears as they ended the kiss. Their hands found one another's again, fingers entwining.

"Come on." Yang smiled.

"Right." Blake reflected her expression.

They headed over to where their sisters were waiting for them, and Yang kept stealing glances to her side.

She could not wait to kiss Blake again.

So once they reached the car, she did, and Blake kissed back with all her heart.

Yang pulled back and looked deeply into those eyes, those gorgeous eyes that had drawn her to Blake on that very first day over ten years ago...

_**Gold.**_

* * *

**A/N: Again, thank you all so much for reading until the end! I realize this may not have been the ideal ending everyone wanted, but I hope you can accept it!**

**Thank you, thank you, thank you for all who have reviewed or sent me encouraging messages and drawn artwork for this story and made it one of the most-reviewed in the category at this time!**

**You can find artwork by my very talented friends for this story at my blog hanasaku-shijin,tumblr,com/tagged/gold**

**In addition, if you like my writing, you can support me on  under the name Kiria Alice!**

**Again, thank you very much for all of the support! Thank you for reading!**

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